
Book__i-^- — 



Gopyiightl^?_ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



THE 

TRACTION ENGINE 
CATECHISM 



A HAND BOOK OF PRACTICAL 
INFORMATION FOR THE FARM 
ENGINEER AND THRESHERMAN 



COMPILED FROM REGULAR ISSUES OF 



THE 



THRESHERMEN'S REVIEW 

WITH ADDITIONS OF 
REFERENCE TABLES 



PRICE, $1.00 



THE THRESHERMEN'S REVIEW CO. 

ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN 

I 906 



-< 



* 



•V 



^ 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

DEC 18 '906 

A Copyright Entry 
CUSS ^ XXc, No, 
COPY B. 



Copyright 1906 

The Threshermen's Review Company 

All Rights Reserved 




PREFACE. 

Several years ago The Threshermen's Review es- 
tablished a department of questions and answers; a 
department devoted to the printing of plain questions 
from threshermen, relating to the business of traction 
engine operation, and of threshing. 

This met with immediate and unqualified favor 
among threshermen, and every issue of The Thresh- 
ermen's Review since has contained a goodly number 
of bona fide questions from threshermen and our 
answers thereto. 

Then came numerous suggestions that these ques- 
tions and answers be assembled in book form for 
convenient reference; and these suggestions finally 
resolved themselves into so insistent a demand that 
the thing be done that we decided to comply with it. 
Hence this book. 

This work makes no pretentions of completeness; 
of covering all the questions that may arise in trac- 
tion engine practice. It is just a compendium of the 
matter printed in our department devoted to ques- 
tions and answers since its establishment. It there- 
fore has no "plot"; no attempt has been made to 
make of it a complete handbook of the traction en- 
gine. It is simply what its title indicates: a cate- 
chism of the traction engine, with this difference 
from other works of the kind, that the questions 



dealt with are those that have actually been asked by 
working threshermen who have met the problems in- 
dicated and have brought them to this paper for so- 
lution. 

In conclusion, we wish to thank our readers for 
their many expressions of appreciation of this de- 
partment; and we hope that this condensation of it 
will be of some service to them in solving many of 
the problems that confront them in the operation of 
their machinery. 

The Threshermen's Review. 



Table of Contents. 

CHAPTER I. 

THE ENGINE. 

Definition of Engine — Limit of Piston Speed 
— Percentage of Heat of Coal in Steam — 
The Double Engine — Explanation of Indi- 
cator Card — Point of Cut-off — Fitting new 
Engine Bed — Increased Fuel Consumption — 
Difference in Economy — Loss of Power — 
The Compound Engine — Boiler Pressures 
— Crosshead Adjustment — Testing Fit of 
Piston — Broken Wrist Pin — Replacing Pis- 
ton Rings — Back Pressure — Removing Back 
Pressure — Removing Crank Disc — Size of 
Steam Pipe 1 1 

CHAPTER II. 

THE BOILER. 

Grate Surface — Blowing Out — Pressures — 
Foaming — Fuel Consumption — Tensile 
Strength Test — Jacketing the Boiler — Pota- 
toes as Scale Removers — Leaky Stay Bolts — 
Repairing Tubes — Patching the Crown Sheet 
— Causes of Explosions — Bagged Plates* — 
Hydrostatic — Cold Water — Tests — The 
Safety Plug — Bulge in Crown Sheet — Cop- 
per Ferules — Repairing Flue Sheet — Re- 



moving Stay Bolts — Loose Boiler Brackets — 
Leak at Fire Door 46 

CHAPTER III. 

THE VALVE GEAR. 

Balanced and Unbalanced Valves — The Cor- 
liss Valve — Setting the Valve — The Woolff 
Valve Gear — Various Matters Explained — 
The Link Motion — Slipped Eccentric — The 
Russell or Giddings Valve — Setting Valve 
on Peerless Engine — Setting Marsh Reverse 
— Truing the Valve and Seat — Running 
when Reverse is on Center — Setting Valve on 
Star Engine 82 

CHAPTER IV. 

HORSE POWER. 

Standard, How Established — Mean Effective 
Pressure — Figuring Horse Power — The 
Prony Brake — Horse Power Compared with 
Engine Power in Plowing — Result of Chang- 
ing Pinion on Crank Shaft — Catalogue Rat- 
ings — Effect of Flywheel — Boiler Horse 
Power 109 

CHAPTER V. 

BOILER FEEDING. 

Injector Troubles — The Heater — Continuous 
Feeding — Pump Questions — Failure of 
Crosshead Pump — Using Jet on Level 124 

CHAPTER VI. 

LUBRICATION. 
Single and Double Connection Lubricators — 



Amount of Oil Needed — Oil Pump Troubles 
— Graphite in the Lubricator — Graphite as a 
Lubricant — Long Feed Pipe for Cylinder Oil 
— Effects of Scant Lubrication — Attaching 
Lubricator to Simple Double Engine — Dis- 
coloration of Oil in Sight Feed Glass — 
Breaking of Sight Feed Glass 134 

CHAPTER VII. 

FIRING. 

Thickness of Fire — Banking the Fire — Clinkers 
— Rocking Grates — Effect of the Exhaust 
Nozzle — Firing with Straw — The Straw 
Stoker — The Spark Arrester — A Poor 
Steamer — Burning Slack Coal — Blower not 
Harmful to Flues 145 

CHAPTER VIII. 

THE GOVERNOR 

Uncertain Control — Changing Speed — On the 
Compound Engine — The Horizontal Gov- 
ernor — The Eclipse Governor 154 

CHAPTER IX. 

BEARINGS. 

Babbitt for the Connecting Rod — Rebabbitting 
Main Shaft — Lining Brass Boxes with Bab- 
bitt — Pound — Babbitting Crank Pin 
Brasses — The Crosshead — Pressure on Bear- 
ings — Lining Up the Crosshead 159 

CHAPTER X. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Laying Up the Engine — Straightening Spokes 



— Loose Flywheel — Best Place for Driving 
Axles — "Dope" for Screw Joints in Pipe- 
Malleable Castings — Melting Temperatures 
— Soldering Flux — Comparative Fuel Values 
— Weight of Air and of Steam — 
Steam Chest Pressure — Taper Waist Boilers 
— Splicing Gandy Belt — Removing Flywheel 
— Changing Brass Lining in Steam Pump 
Cylinder — Relative Value of High and Low 
Drivers — Soot as Paint — A Frozen Steam 
Gauge — Mending Broken Spokes in Fly- 
wheel — Comparative Weights of Steam and 
Water — Grinding Globe Valves — Heating of 
Cylinder Boxes — Finding Dead Center 169 

APPENDIX. 

When Safety Appliances Are Unreliable — 
Steam Engine Indicator — Keys and Set 
Screws on Farm Machinery — Compensating 
Gear — Engine Horse Power — Shafting — 
Belting — Table of Belt Horse Power — Table 
of Belt Contacts — Speed of Pulleys — Size of 
Pulleys — Table of Diameters, Areas and 
Circumferences of Circles — Table of Proper- 
ties of Saturated Steam 201 



Tradion Engine Catechism. 



CHAPTER I. 
THE ENGINE. 

Q. — What is an engine? 

A. — The word engine is used sometimes to indicate 
contrivances that our correspondent would probably 
not recognize as coming under this classification. For 
instance, a large gun might be termed an engine of 
destruction; a torpedo boat or even a battleship 
might also be so designated. The Standard Diction- 
ary is authority for the foregoing; also that any 
agency or instrumentality devised or designedly em- 
ployed may be so termed. As "An engine of oppres- 
sion. " In mechanics, an engine is a machine for con- 
verting some motive energy, usually heat, into work. 
This is an engine as generally meant; but the term is 
also applied to elaborate and complex machines for 
doing intricate and superior work. 

ii 



12 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

Q. — What is the limit of piston speed to which a 
traction engine should be run ? 

A. — The rotative speed of a traction engine will 
keep it below the limit. A 1 2-inch stroke engine run- 
ning 300 revolutions per minute has a piston speed of 
600 feet per minute. Locomotives run as high as 
1,000 feet, and engines in torpedo boats as high as 
1,200 feet per minute. 

Q. — How much of the heat of coal is gotten into 
the steam? 

A. — Authorities on the subject tell us that about 
77 % of the heat of coal is given to the steam. 

Q. — I bought a double cylinder simple engine this 
fall. I understood when I bought it that it had no 
dead center. I find that it has places where it will not 
start with the throttle wide open and no load. The 
agent who sold me the engine tells me I have to throw 
the reverse lever down toward the end of the quad- 
rant to start it. Now, the engine will run hooked up 
in the notches toward the center of the quadrant, and 
sometimes it will start there. Why does it not start 
there every time? Surely there must be something 
wrong with the engine or it must have a dead center, 
although the catalogue claims the engine has no dead 
center. 

A. — It is true that a double engine with its cranks 
set at 90 has no dead center, as only one crank can 
be on the dead point at a time. While one crank is 
on the center the other is in position to do business if 
steam is turned into the cylinder, but if the reverse 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



13 



lever is in the center notch it cannot start, and even if 
the reverse lever is thrown far enough ahead so that 
the valve cuts off the steam at one-half stroke, the en- 
gine cannot move when the cranks are set as men- 
tioned in the foregoing. However, the engine will 
start with the valve gear set at one-half cut-off, pro- 
viding the one crank is set, say at one-eighth or one- 
fourth stroke to begin with. 

The correct way to start a double engine is to al- 
ways have the reverse lever thrown well down to the 
end of the quadrant, and when the engine is started 
hook it up to the point at which you wish it to run. 
This is the way locomotives are started, and a double 
traction engine is built on the same general lines. 

Q. — Enclosed find a card taken from my engine. 
Please tell me what is wrong with it, or what is wrong 
with my engine. I set the valve with the same lead 
on each end, but the diagram on the card shows that 
one end is different from the other. Please tell me 
why this is. The engine has a link reverse and seems 
to be in good condition. 

A. — We have made a cut of the diagram, shown 
in Fig. 1. The cause for one end being larger than 




the other is that the cut-off is not equal. It happens 



14 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM, 



with a valve gear of this nature that when the lead is 
equal the cut-off is unequal. To get the cut-off equal 
the lead must needs be unequal. An unequal lead 
will be more desirable than will be the unequal cut-off, 
for it happens that the piston is practically standing 
still when the valve is opening the port, so it cannot 
effect the engine as much as the unequal cut-off as 
shown in Fig i. Shift your valve so that it will make 
a card which will be equal on each end. Then if you 
will send it to us we will make a cut from it and pub- 
lish it. 

The reason why an engine with an ordinary valve 
gear cannot have an equal lead and an equal cut-off is 
due to a peculiarity in the travel of the connecting 
rod; writers on this subject call it "The angularity of 




the connecting rod" — in consequence of which the 
piston travels faster at one end of the cylinder than at 
the other. Fig. 2 shows the unequal positions of the 
crank pin, a, b, c, d and e, while the positions of the 
crosshead pin are equal; a/ b,' c,' d' and e! In Fig. 
3 the positions of the crank pin are equal, while the 
positions of the crosshead pin are unequal. In Fig. 
2 the crosshead ,(/, is on the center line while the po- 
sition of the crank pin, c, is off the center line. One 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



15 



can readily see that the distance from a to c is greater 
than from c to e y while from a to d is the same as 
from c to e . Since the eccentric is carried on the 
shaft and since the motion of the shaft is uniform, 




d'e' 

due to the balance wheel and since it takes as much 
time for the crank pin to travel from a to c and from 
c to e in Fig. 3, the piston will travel slower from a' 
to c than from c to e . This accounts for the uneven- 
ness of the card when the valve is set with equal lead. 

This can be corrected in an engine with a rocker 
arm instead of a valve rod guide when the rocker 
arm is set to move farther on one side of the center 
than the other. This is done in locomotive practice. 

Q. — Would it be advisable or good to change the 
position of the piston in an engine after the engine 
had been run for four years; the piston and rings 
being run in the same position all that time? 

2. — How can a click be stopped in the cylinder, 
caused, I think, by wear of the piston rings? 

A. — If a piston is properly made the rings will 
travel over the counter bore of the cylinder. If they 
do not they will wear a shoulder in the cylinder. In 
this case the piston will have to be taken out and the 
shoulder filed off before it is safe to change the posi- 
tion of the piston. 



1 6 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

2. — If the rings are loose in the piston, which they 
likely are if they click, the only remedy is to get new 
rings w T hich are wider and fill up the grooves. 

Q. — Will some one tell me why an engine should 
not be reversed without shutting off steam ? One ex- 
pert machine agent called me down for doing it, and 
said it injured the valve to slide it with the lever w T hen 
under pressure. I presume I am dense, but I can't 
see what difference it makes to the valve, to draw it 
with lever or eccentric. I know it gives the gearing a 
bad jar to throw the reverse quickly and I would 
like to know any other reasons. My engine is an old 
Pitts, used eighteen falls. Has a screw throttle that 
is slow to use, consequently it is always handled with 
the reverse lever. The valve has not been repaired 
and have put in no new rings nor no new gears. It 
works good and steams easily. 

A. — If an engine is well designed, reversing it 
without shutting off the steam will not hurt it in any 
respect. In fact, there is more harm to come from 
reversing with the throttle closed when engine is 
running at a high speed, for when an engine is run- 
ning in an opposite direction to which the valve gear 
is set the engine is turned into a pump and it pumps 
air from the stack through the exhaust nozzle into 
the boiler. This can be done on a locomotive coast- 
ing down hill. However, there are release valves on 
the steam ports which prevent this on a locomotive; 
but on a traction engine it can only be done when the 
engine is pulled by another engine or by running the 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 7 

engine to a very high speed and then suddenly re- 
versing it. If the flywheel is very heavy it is more 
effective than if it is light. This we have said 
will pump air into the boiler; but if the engine 
is suddenly reversed while the engine is at a 
high speed and while the throttle is shut, the air 
cannot go into the boiler, but is pumped into the 
steam pipe against the throttle, and if enough power 
is put to the flywheel of the engine something will 
burst; but if the throttle is left open the piston 
never has any more pressure than is in the boiler to 
pump against and that should not hurt it. 

Q. — Which will use more fuel and water, a 12 h. 
p. engine running at 225 revolutions per minute, or 
the same engine at 250, the load remaining the same? 

A. — This depends on the load. If the engine is 
overloaded the higher speed is the better, but if the 
load is too small for the engine the slow r er speed will 
be the better. 

Q. — I have a Russell 14 h. p. compound engine 
and when I pull the reverse lever open it pounds hard, 
and when I put it near center notch it does not pound 
so badly but will not furnish power enough. I admit 
steam in the low pressure cylinder early and that 
helps, but causes back pressure. What would you 
advise to do to help the case ? 

A. — From your description we are inclined to 
believe that your engine is too small for the work 
you are doing. An engine with an expansion gear, as 
the Russell, should not be worked with the reverse 



1 8 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

lever down in the end notch, as this notch is only for 
convenience in starting or pulling through a hard 
place when occasion demands. In this notch the 
valve cuts off the steam at about three-fourths of the 
stroke and at this point the compression is low and 
does not afford sufficient cushion for constant use. 
The engine should be large enough for the work, so 
that it can be hooked up to say one-half stroke. This 
would be late enough for a compound engine. A sim- 
ple engine should be hooked up to one-third or one- 
fourth cut-off. If you are not ready to purchase a 
new engine, the best remedy w T e can offer you is to 
carry as high pressure as your boiler will safely per- 
mit and hook your valve gear up as far as possible, 
that is to run the engine with the reverse lever as close 
to the center of the quadrant as possible. 

Q. — Which is the most economical point of cut- 
off at which to run an engine? I notice that some 
engines have no means of hooking up the valve gear. 
I presume they are set at the most economical point, 
and would like to know where that point is, as my 
engine has a great range of adjustment on the reverse 
quadrant. Can an engine be hooked up too far for 
economy, and if so, what is the limit? 

A. — An automatic single valve engine is generally 
supposed to be cut-off at one-fourth of the stroke. It 
would hardly be practical to try to run a traction 
throttling engine at that cut-off, as the load is so irreg- 
ular that the cut-off has to be set late enough to take 
care of the maximum load. The traction engines with 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 9 

a fixed cut-off are set to cut off at about one-half 
stroke. The best place to run the valve gear on a 
traction engine is to hook it up as far as possible. 
The engines are very seldom large enough for the 
work to get the best economy, so there is no danger 
of hooking them up too far. The best way to find 
the place for the reverse lever is, after the engine is 
at work to hook it up until the speed slacks a little, 
then move it one notch forward. This is generally 
enough to take care of the maximum loads. How- 
ever, it should never be hooked up closer than to one- 
fourth cut-off. 

Q. — In putting on a new engine bed on an engine 
would you make rigid fastening on pillow blocks 
when the boiler is cold or would you steam up to 
about 75 lbs. — working pressure 150 lbs. — to divide 
the strain on the engine bed equally between expan- 
sion and contraction of the boiler, which apparently 
cracked the lower side of guide of old bed? 

2. — The new bed comes with bearing for main 
shaft babbitted. Opposite bearing has never been 
opened and seems to be in good order. Would you 
put it up without rebabbitting both new and old bear- 
ings? 

3. — What h. p. will a 6^ x 10, 10-inch stroke 
tandem compound engine develop, running 230 rev- 
olutions per minute, at 150 lbs. pressure? 

A. — On some engines there is a slip joint where 
the cylinder is bolted to the boiler which allows the 
boiler to expand and contract without exerting an 



20 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

undue strain on the castings; but if the cylinder and 
bed or frame are bolted rigidly to the boiler it cer- 
tainly would help matters to bolt it up at a medium 
temperature of the boiler and thus reduce the danger 
of breaking the frame. 

The temperature of the boiler at 150 lbs. gauge 
pressure is about 355° F. Say the average tempera- 
ture of the atmosphere is 45 °, this would make the av- 
erage temperature of the boiler 200 . Steam at atmos- 
pheric pressure, or just before it shows on the steam 
gauge, is 212 ; so you see a medium temperature 
would be at about this point. As there are only about 
50 between 75 and i5olbs. pressure, 75 lbs. would 
be a medium pressure but would not be a medium 
temperature. 

2. — The main box in the engine frame is square 
with the cylinder and in the factory the shaft is 
bolted fast by means of the main bearing cap, so that 
after the cylinder and frame are bolted to the boiler 
the shaft is rigidly held in place and the outer bearing 
is babbitted last. It may be possible that the outer 
bearing will be exactly in position. This can be found 
out by close examination, and if it is not exactly in 
position the babbitt should be cut out and replaced 
after the cylinder and frame are bolted to the boiler, 
and shaft is securely held by the cap. To insure the 
shaft being held properly, the liners should be taken 
out from between the cap and box. 

3. — The nominal h. p. as given by the manufac- 
turers is 20 and the maximum brake h. p. is 49. 

Q. — Do you think that the oil that runs down over 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 2 1 

the side of boiler will do any harm if not removed? 

2. — We do not use our governor when sawing and 
I notice that the engine will run faster when hooked 
up than it will when the reverse is in the last notch. 
This is when engine is not working any and just 
enough steam admited to run, say, 125 revolutions. 
(Woolff reverse) . Can you tell me why this is? 

A. — The only harm the oil on the boiler does is 
to its looks. 

2.— Your engine running without the governor 
controlling it and using the throttle to control the 
engine will run faster cutting off early than late, for 
the reason that the steam w T orks on expansion to a 
higher degree when cutting off early, and thus get- 
ting more value out of the steam. This is a proof 
that u hooking up" helps the economy. On a cross 
compound engine, when it is arranged so that it can 
be run either simple or compound, and when a cer- 
tain amount of steam is admitted by the throttle in 
both cases, the engine will run faster running com- 
pound than it will running simple with the same 
amount of steam. This is a proof that a compound 
engine is more economical than a simple engine as it 
shows that there is more value gotten out of the 
steam in running compound. 

Q. — Does hammering on a check valve or an injec- 
tor do any good in starting it when it is slow in 
taking water? 

A. — Hammering on an injector will do no good 
in helping the injector to take the water. It some- 
times happens that when an automatic injector runs 



2 2 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

at the overflow a little tap will do some good. Ham- 
mering on a check valve can do no good in starting 
an injector. 

Q. — My engine is a 22 h. p. and my separator 
is a 40 x 62 with a blower of a standard kind, 
feeder and weigher. Now in dry grain the engine 
handles it with perfect ease and yet uses up from 
seven to eight tw r elve-barrel tanks in a day of 
about 12 hours. There is no leak of water and hardly 
any of steam except the regular use. The valve is set 
perfect. I took the cylinder head off to see if the rings 
leaked, but they leaked just a little on one side of the 
piston head, but it was so little I don't think it would 
hurt that much. The valve don't leak either as far 
as I could judge. Last year we used only three to 
four and a half tanks a day and the grain was all wet 
and tough, so the engine had to work harder. This 
year it was easier, yet she uses more water. 

A. — If the piston and valve are reasonably tight 
and the valve is set correctly, the trouble is evidently 
in the running of the engine. Perhaps you hooked up 
the valve gear last year and this year you run the 
valve at full stroke. This would make some differ- 
ence in the water consumption. If your boiler foams 
this also would cause it to take more water. It may 
be to your advantage to have a good machinist look 
over your engine, if possible a representative of the 
factory at which it was built. It may be that there is 
something out of place which you do not notice. 
There is something radically wrong when an engine 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 23 

takes twice as much water as it did a year ago. 

Q. — What is the difference in the economy of dif- 
ferent classes of engine? Why would it not pay to 
have a higher grade engine for the traction engine, 
say a Corliss and condensing engine? 

A. — The additional first cost of the engine is one 
thing in the way, although there is room for some 
advancement along this line. An automatic cut-off 
engine for the thresherman may not be far off; but 
as for a Corliss and condensing engine for 
traction work, this may never come, especially the 
latter. The water consumption of a single valve sim- 
ple, non-condensing engine is from 30 to 33lbs. per 
hour per h. p. ; a compound single valve non-con- 
densing engine is from 22 to 25lbs. ; a compound 
single valve condensing from 14 to 16 lbs.; a simple 
Corliss non-condensing engine, from 27 to 30 lbs.; 
a compound Corliss condensing engine, from 12 to 
15 lbs.; a triple expansion Corliss condensing engine 
from 10 to 14 lbs.; steam turbine, high grade, 15 lbs. 

Q. — I have a complete outfit consisting of a 25 
h. p. engine, 42 x 66 separator, w T ith self feeder, 
blower and weigher. I would like the opinion of The 
Review in regard to the engine. It has a cylinder 
10 inches in diameter and 12-inch stroke, with a 
Woolff reverse gear. It don't seem to have as much 
power as it should and pounds terribly when doing 
hard work, especially when the relief exhaust is 
closed. When the reverse lever is in the last notch 
the valve only opens the ports about three-fourths 



24 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

of their width, and cuts off at about two-thirds stroke, 
while the lead is nearly one-eighth inch. 

Don't you think there is too much back pressure 
due to compression and lead, which also pushes the 
valve off its seat and lets it come back with a pound? 

Would not a new eccentric strap that has the con- 
nection for the eccentric rod farther up towards the 
block give the valve more throw and less lead? 

A. — A valve need not open its port full to admit 
steam, as the port is made wide enough to let the 
exhaust escape at a low pressure, say, almost atmos- 
pheric pressure, and at this pressure the volume is 
much greater than at boiler pressure. In the ordinary 
size traction engine one-fourth of an inch opening 
for the live steam into the cylinder will be as efficient 
as three-fourths opening to let the exhaust steam out 
of the cylinder. On investigation you will find that 
when the valve gear is hooked up so that there is but 
a small port opening to admit live steam, the port 
is always opened wide for the exhaust steam. One- 
eighth of an inch is not far from the right amount 
of lead for this size engine. One-thirty-second of 
an inch less might be better, but in later years engines 
have been given more lead than before the engine 
indicator was in use by traction engine builders. It 
will be interesting to you to find out how much the 
piston travels while the lead is effected, in other 
words move the engine in the direction in which it 
runs until the valve is just ready to open, make a mark 
on the crosshead shoe and guide, then move the en- 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 25 

gine to the end of its travel and you will be surprised 
to see how little the piston moves to accomplish the 
lead. In this position of the engine's travel, the valve 
is moving its fastest and the piston is moving its slow- 
est, and this is why a little excessive lead is not as 
detrimental as one would suppose at first glance. At 
all events we do not think it would pay you to get 
a new eccentric strap to reduce the lead. 

Your engine does not pound from excessive com- 
pression. A lack of compression would be more 
apt to cause a pound. When the valve gear is 
hooked up to effect an early cut-off, the compression 
is higher and you will find this is where the engine 
runs the smoothest. Your best plan would be to 
hook the valve gear up as far as possible, to not 
only get a quiet, but also an economical engine. 
Any looseness about the boxes always makes more 
noise when the engine is cutting off late in the strokes. 

Q. — In a crosshead pump, such as is used on most 
traction engines, where one valve works over the 
other, what is the best thing to use to reduce the 
lift of the valves and how to hold it in place? 

2. — What is the proper lift of pump valves? 

3. — How is the diameter of round valve seats 
measured; in the small opening at the bottom, or 
at the top? 

4. — What is the best way to pack a piston rod 
and what is the best packing to use? 

5. — What is the best packing for a crosshead 
pump? 



26 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

6. — In an old engine on which the babbitting is 
worn down to the box so it heats, how can we con- 
tinue to run it without stopping to rebabbitt? Can 
the boxes be bushed with anything outside of rebab- 
bitting? 

7. — Admitting that the return flue and the firebox 
boilers are both good, what are the advantages of 
each? Is one any better for steep hills than the 
other? 

A. — You can put a disc or washer on top of the 
valve. It does not need to be fastened, only see that 
it is fixed so that it cannot get out of place. 

2. — If the valve is allowed to lift one-quarter of 
its diameter, the area of the opening will be equal 
to the capacity of the valve. 

3. — The diameter of a valve is measured at the 
smallest part of the seat. 

4 and 5. — There are quite a number of good 
kinds. The Peerless, Selden's, America, Crandall, 
Metallo, Pilley's, Goodsell's, Regal, Daniel's, "P. P. 
P.," Lubrobestos, Gordon, Duval, Gould's, and 
others. You will surely find some of these with your 
dealer. Give size of stuffing box and size of rod, 
or figure out the size of the packing you want. This 
is all prepared packing and should be cut in rings 
and put in stuffing box so as to break joints. 

6. — In a box which is simply prepared for bab- 
bitting metal nothing will do for a substitute. Your 
best plan will be to rebabbitt it. 

7. — The two kinds of boilers mentioned are 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 27 

equally good if both are properly designed. Neither 
will have any advantage in climbing hills. 

Q. — Can you get a double engine located any- 
where in the stroke so that with no load it will not 
start, cutting off at three- fourths stroke? 

2. — When you gear an engine so that it will run 
faster than the drivers are you gearing the engine up 
or down? 

3. — Can a traction engine be run fast enough on 
the road to hurt anything by not using a governor 
belt? 

A. — When a double engine is set to cut-off at 
three-fourths of the stroke, it should start at any 
point, but if the load is too heavy, there are some 
points at which it will not start. However the load 
has to be very heavy to prevent it starting at three- 
fourths cut-off. 

2. — It is common to say that the engine is geared 
up rather than the drivers are geared down. 

3. — Nearly every traction engine should be able 
to run at least 500 revolutions per minute without 
doing any harm to the cylinder and shaft part of 
the engine. This would run an engine between five 
and six miles per hour. The harm which might 
come to the engine is, that it would likely be shaken 
to pieces or run into something. So we think the 
speed at which the engine can be nicely kept in the 
road will not harm the engine. 

Q. — I have been running a compound engine with 
an adjustable cut-off. When it is running "hooked 



2 8 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

up" it runs smoothly; but when let out to full stroke 
it commences to pound. What is the cause and how 
can it be remedied? 

A. — The pound is caused by the lack of compres- 
sion or "cushion." By this we mean the penning up 
of a portion of the exhaust steam at the end of the 
stroke. The compression varies with the cut-off. 
When the cut-off is early or "hooked up," the point 
of compression is also early, thus penning more 
exhaust steam in the cylinder and making a higher 
compression with the result that the engine will 
run more smoothly. On the other hand, when the 
cut-off is late, the point of compression is also late 
and there is less steam penned in the cylinder to stop 
the piston, crosshead and connecting rod and it will 
be readily seen that when the live steam strikes the 
piston the loose bearings through the engine will 
make a "pound." 

Q. — How can a compound engine do its work 
with less steam than a single engine ? 

A. — In the first place, you will notice that the high 
pressure or small cylinder on a compound engine is 
smaller than the cylinder on a simple engine of the 
same h. p. And since the high pressure only takes 
live steam this would be an indication of less space 
to be filled. Then the steam that is admitted to 
the high pressure cylinder is expanded nearer to at- 
mospheric pressure that it is in the simple cylinder. 
Thus getting more work out of the steam in the com- 
pound engine. 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 29 

Q. — Why is a compound engine more economical 
than a simple one? 

A. — Compound engines are more economical than 
simple engines mainly because of the higher pressure 
with which they can be worked without involving 
excessive strains, and partly in consequence of the 
diminished loss by cylinder condensation. A very 
early cut-off in a cylinder causes serious condensation. 
The same number of expansions may be obtained in 
one cylinder as in two, by sufficiently early cut-off; 
but the strain of throwing a high pressure of steam 
on a large cylinder and cutting off very early neces- 
sitates enormous strength in the working parts and 
hence, when the expansion can take place in two cyl- 
inders, the strain is better distributed, while more 
smooth and even working is secured. The cooling 
surface is less, and the range of temperature is less 
in the high pressure cylinder than in a single cylinder 
engine with equal expansion, hence the diminished 
loss by condensation. — Ex. from Practical Engineer. 

Q. — We have a 15 h. p. simple engine that will 
pull every pound as much as an 18 h. p. compound 
of another make, both new engines. The compound 
carries 150 lbs. of steam and our engine 135 lbs. 
Explain to me the benefit in the compound. It 
doesn't prove out in this case. 

A. — While a simple engine may be stronger than 
a compound engine of greater rated h. p., yet the 
compound engine will do its rated h. p. of work on 
less fuel and water than will the simple engine. The 



30 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

compound engine cannot be worked beyond its rated 
capacity, as can a simple engine, but the compound 
engine can be worked to its limit and yet be quite 
economical. While if a simple engine is worked to 
its limit it becomes very wasteful. A simple engine 
has to be hooked up to use the steam expansively, 
while a compound engine with its low pressure cyl- 
inder uses the steam expansively even without hook- 
ing up. 

Q. — I have a 30 h. p. Woolff compound engine 
that exhausts through heater. What would be the 
result if I take the heater off and exhaust through 
pipe instead? Will the exhaust be sharper? It is 
now flat. 

A. — A sharp exhaust is a sure sign of poor econ- 
omy. It takes back pressure to produce a sharp 
exhaust. If your steaming capacity is good leave 
the exhaust as it is. If not, the exhaust nozzle can 
be slightly reduced. The heater will not likely have 
any effect on the exhaust as the opening through it 
is about the same as the exhaust pipe. 

Q. — Which is the most economical on a large 
boiler and engine (high pressure) while doing work 
that 80 lbs. would easily do, to carry about 100 lbs. 
or keep her up to the point of blow-off at 160 lbs? 
What I'm getting at is in regard to fuel and water. 

A. — The high pressure with the larger engine is 
always the best. The valve gear of the engine can 
then be hooked up thereby working the steam to a 
higher degree of expansion and then using less steam, 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 3 1 

and it follows that less fuel and water will be 
required. 

Q. — What size of exhaust nozzle would I use for 
straw burner 10 x 10 cylinder, about 220 revolutions 
and what size of nozzle for coal the same size of 
cylinder and same number of revolutions? 

A. — The size of the opening in an exhaust nozzle 
is very important. It does not need to be far from 
the right size to do poor work. You can find the 
correct size by writing to the makers of the engine. 

Q. — What is the reason the crosshead of an engine 
run one fall the bottom shoe wore over an eighth of 
an inch and the top shoe about an eighth of an inch? 
They were slide shoes to take up the wear. I could 
not keep the shoes from cutting. I adjusted them 
in all different ways. Maybe the guides were too 
rough for the shoes to wear smooth. I oiled them 
with two or three different kinds of oil, but would 
not stop it, how much I oiled them. 

A. — Your description would indicate that there is 
not enough bearing surface on the crosshead shoes. 
The shoes should not wear three-sixteenths of an inch 
in ten years. However, you can help them along by 
the use of graphite mixed in the oil. You may be ad- 
justing the shoes too tight. The best way to test the 
crosshead for looseness is to pry the crosshead up and 
down with a stout stick ; this will show you how much 
play there is between the shoes and guides. There 
should be looseness to the amount of the thickness 
of writing paper. This will allow the oil to work 



32 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

between the shoes and guides, and will be tight 
enough to keep it from knocking. 

Q. — My engine has a very noticeable pound on 
the back center, when running under a full load. 
Tightening the crank and crosshead brasses does no 
good. The link reverse is used in which there is a 
slight lost motion, which causes the gear to pound 
slightly; I have thought perhaps this is the cause, but 
if so why does it not pound on both centers of the 
crank? Otherwise the engine runs very nicely. Can 
you tell me how to find the cause of the trouble? 

A. — There are a great many things which may 
cause your engine to pound at one end of the stroke. 
The piston may be too close to the cylinder head, 
the crosshead may be out of line, the crank shaft may 
be out of line or the crank pin may be out of round, 
or not true with the crank shaft. The piston or 
crosshead may be loose on the piston rod or the fly- 
wheel may be loose on the shaft. 

Q.— I have an engine of the girder pattern. The 
slides or guides are worn pretty bad. If I draw up 
the shoes on the crosshead tight enough so they won't 
rattle they spring the guides a little on each end of 
the stroke. The guides are worn the most in the 
center. I want to know how to plane the guides 
without taking the engine to the machine shop, and 
what tools to use. 

A. — Your best plan will be to get a machinist to 
refit the guides. The tool which will be required 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 33 

to do this work is a scraper. It will not be necessary 
to take the engine to a machine shop. 

Q. — How far will the piston of an 8^ x 10 
engine travel on the first six inches of the crank? 
Connecting rod six times length of crank, and will 
the piston travel the same distance from both ends 
of the cylinder? 

A. — On an engine with 10-inch stroke and with 
connecting rod 30 inches long, the first six inches of 
the travel of the crank pin (measured on the path of 
the crank pin), will move the piston at cylinder head 
end three and five-eighths inches, and at crank end 
of cylinder tw T o and seven-eighths inches. This dif- 
ference is due to the angularity of the connecting 
rod. 

Q. — I would like to know how to find out if my 
engine cylinder needs re-boring, or if the rings are 
worn out. Please tell of a simple way to tell if the 
cylinder is round. 

A. — Take off the cylinder head, place the piston 
at say one-fourth or one-third from the stuffing box 
end of the cylinder. Block the flywheel so that the 
engine cannot move, place the reverse lever so that 
the valve will admit steam in the closed end. Now 
turn on the steam and see if the piston leaks. If the 
valve leaks, steam will come out of the port. How- 
ever, you can tell where the steam comes from by 
careful examination. 

If you want to find whether or not the cylinder is 
round, you can take a stick a little shorter than the 



34 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

diameter of the cylinder and stick a pin in the end 
or one in both ends if you wish and adjust the pin to 
the size of the cylinder. Thus you will have a cali- 
per that will show the difference in size at all points 
in the cylinder. 

Q. — I have a 22 h. p. engine, return flue. The 
cylinder is 9x12 and my separator is a 40 x 60 
Minneapolis with blower and feeder. Now I use 
seven tanks of 12 bbls. each of water a day of 12 
hours. It fires quite easy, but it labors or appears to 
labor hard. The valve is set all right, but there is 
lots of water passes with the steam when the cylinder 
cocks are opened. It seems to take lots of water with 
the steam. Some tell me that I have too big a lead, 
and some that something is wrong with the engine. 
Please explain. 

A. — The lead will not cause the water to come 
from the cylinder. Cold, windy weather is more 
likely to cause this. If you let your boiler get dirty, 
and have a tendency to foam, this will cause water 
to go through the cylinders. Use plenty of cylinder 
oil and hook your valve gear up as close as possible 
and there will be less tendency to foam. 

Q. — What causes the breaking of the wrist-pin 
on threshing machine engines? My instance is a 13 
h. p. engine running a 36-inch cylinder and a 56 rear 
with blower. Last year was the engine's fourth year. 
When we had threshed about 15,000 bushels it broke 
the wrist-pin and knocked out the cylinder heads. 
Had it fixed and threshed about 10,000 bushels when 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 35 

it did the same thing again. Some say bad water 
caused it, others say the wrist-pin was not in line 
with the cylinder. 

A. — Very likely your engine is a little light for 
the work you are doing. A 36 x 56-inch separator 
with blower is all a 16 or 18 h. p. engine can take 
care of when in the hands of some threshermen. 
However, a 13 h. p. engine will run a 36-inch ma- 
chine, but it should not be fed very fast. Some en- 
gines are built strong enough to be run beyond their 
rated capacity. The suggestion that bad water caused 
the break will hardly stand. There may have been 
water in the cylinder at the time of the breaking of 
the pin, caused by foaming of the boiler and due to 
bad water, but a crank-pin should be of sufficient 
strength to stand a certain amount of water shock- 
ing. 

The suggestion that the pin may be out of line with 
the cylinder is hardly the reason. The writer's 
opinion is that the work is too severe for the pin, and 
the steel becomes fatigued, or as some people say 
crystallized, and in this weakened condition is broken. 

Q. — How will I replace the piston rings on my 
engine? Will they spread out with heating? 

A. — Take the piston out of the cylinder, and stand 
the rod on the ground, head up; apply the inside of 
the ring to the side of the piston rod next to you, and 
gradually press it open with your hand until it will 
go down over the head; then push it down to its 
place. 



36 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

Q. — Our engine steams up easy, but just as quick 
as the throttle is opened to run, the engine drops 10 
lbs. of steam at once, and keeps on going down until 
she has not got power to pull. 

2. — What is the matter with my engine? I can 
have 120 lbs. of steam, steam gauge and pop valve 
in good condition; she runs and pulls separator, but 
as soon as they feed the machine she will not run and 
pull her load with 120 lbs. of steam. What can the 
cause be? 

A. — There must be something wrong in the cyl- 
inder. The piston may leak badly or the valve may 
be out of place, which may be caused by the eccen- 
tric not being in place as well as the valve slipping on 
the stem. There may also be something wrong with 
the steaming qualities of the boiler. For instance, if 
the exhaust nozzle w T as not small enough, or if it 
would not blow the exhaust steam up the stack. Any 
one of these things suggested would cause the engine 
to perform as you describe. 

2. — In this case the engine may be too small for 
the work, or the valve gear may be out of place, or 
there may be a stoppage of the steam caused by a 
defective governor or throttle. A stoppage in the 
heater or exhaust pipe may also cause the trouble, or 
perhaps the exhaust nozzle is too small. With these 
suggestions you may be able to run down the trouble. 

Q. — What is a good remedy for heating piston 
rods ? 

A. — In the first place the piston rod should be in 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 37 

line with the guides. By watching the piston rod 
stuffing box while the engine is running you can de- 
termine whether it is in line or not. If the stuffing 
box gland rocks up and down with the engine in 
running, it is not in line and the way to move the 
crosshead to get it in line will suggest itself. 

Another cause of heating is hard and tight pack- 
ing. Take all the old and hard packing out and put 
in fresh packing and enough of it. After the first 
day's run, if you have to draw the stuffing box up to 
keep it from leaking, put in more packing and keep it 
full. The more packing you have in the box the less 
you have to draw it up to keep it tight; on the other 
hand, the less packing you have in the box the more 
you have to draw it up and the more likely it is to 
heat. If the rod is rough from heating caused by 
hard, tight packing, or by one side of the gland 
drawn up farther than the other, a good way to help 
out is to fix a bunch of waste or a rag on the rod 
close to the stuffing box by means of a wire and keep 
the rag or bunch of waste well oiled. This will hold 
the oil and deliver it to the rod by degrees and thus 
keep the rod lubricated continuously. 

Q. — Why does my 10 h. p. Woolff compound en- 
gine wear the piston rod flat on the top side between 
the two cylinders where the packing box is? It 
began to wear the first season. Has been run five 
seasons. 

2. — My engine has straight exhaust; no steam in 
heater to heat water. If I turn steam on heater and 



38 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

double my feed pipe and use piston pump, will I gain 
anything over injector? 

A. — One of a number of things may be the cause 
of wearing a flat place on the top of the rod. The 
piston rod may be bent; the cylinder head between 
the two cylinders may fit too loosely and therefore 
drop down out of center, which would make the 
metallic packing box ride on top of the piston rod; 
the metallic packing box may be out of center; or 
the two cylinders may be out of line with each other. 
The trouble can only be located by an examination of 
the parts by a competent mechanic. 

2. — There is a gain in using a pump and exhaust 
heater. The steam that is taken to run the injector 
goes back to the boiler, but when the heat is taken 
from the exhaust steam there is that much advantage 
over the injector as the heat gotten from the exhaust 
steam costs nothing extra, as does the live steam sent 
to the injector. 

Q. — How may the disc on the crank shaft be taken 
off and a new one put on? 

A. — The old disc can be driven off with a sledge 
hammer. The new one can be shrunken on. The 
best way to do this is to place the disc in a wood fire, 
being sure to heat it all over, for if one part of a 
disc is heated more than another, it is likely to crack; 
after it is nearly red hot put the disc on the shaft 
or the shaft into the disc; the way to do this can be 
determined by the tools you have with which to han- 
dle the parts. Be sure to get the key ways to match. 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 39 

After it is cooled the key can be fitted; care should be 
taken to have it well fitted the entire length so as 
to not throw the disc out of true. 

Q. — How do you get the angle of 90 on crank 
when setting eccentric? 

A. — Eccentrics are not set by degrees on the crank. 
They are usually set by the valve when crank is on 
center, or in some cases, by other parts of the valve 
gear. 

Q. — Are crank pins put in by hydraulic pressure? 

A. — They are pressed in by hydraulic press, screw 
press, driven with hammer, by shrinking, and in case 
of a taper fit, a screw and nut on the back end of the 
pin is provided to draw it into the hole. These are 
the common ways of doing this work. Another way, 
which is now out of use, was to put a key through the 
crank and pin. 

Q. — When a double engine does not start at all 
points of the stroke what is the trouble? 

A. — The maximum cut-off on a double engine 
should be later in the stroke than that of a single 
engine. The object of having a later cut-off is not so 
much to get power as to be able to start a heavy load 
at any position of the cranks. The cranks being set 
at 90 one w T ould naturally think that a valve gear 
set at a little over one-half cut-off would start the 
cranks at any point; and it would, if the load were 
not too great. When the maximum cut-off is, say, 
five-eighths of the stroke (the one crank on dead 
center and the other at one-half of its. stroke — the 



40 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

latter only having to move a short distance till the 
steam is cut off) this brings the one which was on the 
center in position to move; but it being so near the 
dead point and now alone in the work, it has a poor 
chance to start a heavy load. Hence the advantage 
of having a late cut-off, for it is clear that if one pis- 
ton follows its crank with steam to the point of, say, 
three-fourths of the stroke, the other piston and 
crank is so far on its travel that it can take the load 
alone till the former one gets off dead center again 
and can help itself. Thus not only is the engine 
ready to start at any position, but by having a late 
cut-off it can start a heavy load at any position of 
the cranks; for w T hen one cylinder is in cut-off the 
other is at its best. 

Q. — I have a 25 h. p. boiler and engine. What 
should be the right size of feed pipe from boiler to 
engine? The pipe on the dome is only 2 y 2 -inch con- 
necting to 3-inch pipe to engine. When the boiler 
fills up to about half way between the gauge cocks 
the water draws over. 

A. — A 2^ -inch connection should be large enough 
for a throttling engine of this size. The size of the 
steam pipe does not have anything to do with boiler 
u drawing over." You may get some relief by hook- 
ing up your valve gear as close to the center notch as 
you can; and changing the water in your boiler often 
will also help matters. 

Q. — I have a 10 h. p. engine with 7 x 10 cylinder 
running a 33-inch separator. The engine seems to 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 41 

be a little light, but if I could make steam fast enough 
could get along, as there is plenty of power at no 
lbs. of steam, but the trouble is to hold the pressure. 
If I put a smaller flywheel on the engine and run 
the engine faster would it not make a better draft 
and enable me to keep up steam? I am using good 
dry wood for fuel. 

A. — You are likely over working your engine, but 
even if an engine is overworked, the boiler should 
make steam enough to stall the engine. The boiler 
may be old and badly limed up which would make it 
steam hard and the exhaust nozzle may have been 
the right size for coal. After you are satisfied that 
the valve and piston are tight, the best place to in- 
crease the steaming qualities of an engine is to reduce 
the opening of the exhaust nozzle. If it is made of 
pipe you can take it out each day and reduce it, say, 
one-sixteenth of an inch at a time, till you have the 
proper steaming capacity. To reduce the flywheel 
and run the engine faster would not help you out for 
while the engine would exhaust faster it would not 
be so sharp. 

Q. — Does a double cylinder engine take any more 
water and fuel than a single cylinder? 

A. — A double cylinder engine should not take any 
more steam than should a single cylinder engine. But 
we can see how some double engines could take more 
steam than some single engines, likewise some single 
engines can take more steam than some double en- 
gines. It depends usually on the conditions of the 



42 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

engines, and sometimes on the design. All conditions 
being equal they should be the same. 

Q. — What is meant by back pressure ? 

A. — Back pressure is the pressure on the back or 
exhaust side of the piston, due to resistance of the at- 
mosphere to the exhausting steam. This is 15 lbs. 
per square inch, and is usually increased several 
pounds by incompleteness of exhaust. 

Q. — I have a 12 h. p. engine, cylinder 7^ x 10; 
the outside diameter of this cylinder is the same as 
16 h. p. cylinder of the same make of engine, but 
with smaller bore than the 16 h. p. If I have the 
7^ x 10 bored out to 8 x 10 would it give more 
power without changing or enlarging the steam pipe 
or governor? Governor is i^-inch. Would it give 
the same power as the 7^ x 10 without using any 
more steam? 

A. — It would not be necessary to enlarge your 
steam pipe if you bore your cylinder out to eight 
inches in diameter. Some 8 x 10 engines have a i^- 
inch pipe, while others have a two-inch steam pipe, 
You will not be able to notice the difference in the 
working of the engine if either size is used. 

Taking your 7^ x 10 engine at 12 h. p. (nor- 
mal) the power will be increased a little over 1 y 2 h. 
p. if you change it to 8x10, providing it is run un- 
der the same conditions. 

To do the same amount of work with the 8 x 10 it 
would likely take less steam, especially if the 7^ x 10 
engine was too small for the work. The reason for 
this is that the valve gear on the 8x10 engine can 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 43 

be hooked up a little closer, thus using the steam to a 
higher degree of expansion. 

Q. — Why is a piston valve engine more apt to 
break its cylinder head than a common D valve en- 
gine? Does not the water have the same chance to 
get by the valve ? 

A. — The piston cannot push all the water out of 
the cylinder either in a piston or a D valve engine, 
for the reason that the valve closes the port for com* 
pression at about three-fourths of the stroke. Thus 
the steam is compressed about one-fourth of the 
stroke. If there is more water in the cylinder than 
the clearance will hold, when the port is closed the 
D valve will be lifted from the seat to let the water 
out of the cylinder back into the steam chest and into 
the exhaust port, but in the case of a piston valve, 
it not being able to leave its seat something has to 
yield when there is more water than the clearance 
will hold. Usually there is a relief valve on the ports 
which has a spring and acts like a regular safety 
valve. The spring is set so that it will not open 
when the regular pressure is on it, but as soon as the 
pressure becomes greater due to the penning up of 
the water the spring will yield and open the valve, 
thus saving the cylinder head and other parts which 
may be broken due to the water shock. These valves 
are sometimes too small to let the water pass free 
enough and the engine is sometimes broken from 
this cause. 

Q. — My engine is considerably out of balance. I 
realize that the counterbalance is not heavy enough 



44 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

to balance the engine, and it knocks so much that it 
shakes the stack off the stack base. I tried to balance 
the engine by putting a weight in the flywheel, but 
this only changed the rock from an end to a side 
rock. Can you suggest any plan by which I can bal- 
ance the engine. I could do it by having a larger 
crank disc made, but don't want to go to that ex- 
pense. Can you give me a rule to find the amount of 
counterweight it requires? 

A. — Rule for horizontal engine counterbalance: 
Add together the weight of the crank-pin, connecting 
rod complete, crosshead complete, and the piston 
complete. Multiply this by three and the length of 
the crank and divide by four and the radius of the 
center of gravity of the counterweight. This will 
give you the counterbalance weight. 

Since you simply want to add to the weight already 
on the engine, instead of making a new crank disc 
you could make a band of one-half inch thick and 
the width of the crank disc and allow it to be loose 
enough to put lead between the band and the crank 
disc. The band can be made adjustable by making 
ears on the ends and a bolt through the ears to draw 
it tight to the disc and thereby hold the lead in 
place. The lead can "be made in pieces the width of 
the crank disc and different amounts can be tried till 
the right amount is arrived at. The cavity for the 
lead should be crescent shape, allowing the band to 
rest on the disc at the crank-pin, and the bulk of the 
lead at the opposite side. i\fter the correct amount 
is arrived at, the circumference of the band can be de- 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 45 

cided on and it can be welded up solid, thus doing 
away with the bolt. The band can then be put on 
the disc, having the pin upward and the ring resting 
on the disc, thus leaving the crescent-shaped cavity 
below. The lead can then be melted and poured in 
the bottom and then calked in tightly. The band 
should not be a true circle, but fit close to the disc 
over half around it on the pin side, and then leaving 
the lead in a bulk at the opposite side of the pin. 
There should be provisions made to prevent the 
whole thing from slipping around the disc. This 
can be done by putting a pin or screw through the 
band into the disc. 



CHAPTER II. 
BOILER. 

Q. — I have a 10 h. p. engine but very little worn. 
Flues 2]/ 2 inches by about 52 or 53. Shell 27 inches 
I think on inside. I would like to know how much 
increase of pow T er or capacity I would get by length- 
ening boiler two or three feet, and moving the flue 
sheet out that distance. I see you calculate horse 
power by area of heating surface, but I would think 
the additional surface being so far away from the 
fire would not increase capacity in proportion. I 
think cylinder is 7^4 x 11. Would it be practicable 
to extend supply steam pipe down into and across 
fire chamber to act as superheater, or is there a device 
of that kind made for traction engines? 

A. — The grate surface in a boiler should be in 
proportion to the heating surface. If the waste gases 
in the stack are not much above the temperature of 
the boiler, when the boiler is used at its average rate 
of power, the tubes are long enough and to make 
them longer would be a detriment, but if the waste 
gases are much hotter than the temperature of the 
boiler, the lengthening of the tubes would be a help. 
Some boilers are so small that the waste gases make 
the stack red hot. This can best be noticed at night. 
You do not give the number of tubes in boiler and 

46 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 47 

size of fire box, therefore we cannot tell the increase 
of heating surface, if tubes are made longer. We 
would not advise you to run steam pipe through fire 
box to superheat the steam as it would not pay you 
for the trouble in making this change. 

Q. — Can a boiler blown off at night and refilled, 
injure the flues after working hard all day? What 
is the best method of keeping a boiler clean during 
threshing season? 

A. — As a general rule a boiler should be cleaned 
out once a week, but in some sections once a day 
would not be too often. The boiler can be blown 
out at a low pressure, say 20 to 40 lbs. The hand 
hole plates should be taken off and a scraper used 
wherever it is possible. It should also be washed out 
with water. If mud or sediment is allowed to col- 
lect in the boiler the sheets are apt to be burned out, 
as the water cannot get to the sheets. 

Q. — Is too small a w 7 ater space between the top 
row of flues in a boiler apt to make it foam when it 
is working hard and under a full pressure of steam? 
We had quite a little trouble with foaming this fall. 

A. — Boilers with large water space above the 
tubes are not so apt to foam. The fact that low 
water will help a boiler, when it is inclined to foam 
due to tKe use of bad water, will prove this point. 

Q. — At 100 lbs. steam pressure on the dome of the 
boiler, what is the pressure at the bottom of the 
boiler? 

A. — There will be more pressure at the bottom of 
the boiler than in the dome, due to the weight of the 



48 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

water. For every foot in height the pressure will 
increase at bottom 0.4335 ft>- t0 the square inch. In 
other words, if the water is 3^ feet deep in the boil- 
er there will be about \]/ 2 lbs. more pressure at bot- 
tom of boiler than in the steam portion. 

Q. — I have a boiler 19 inches in diameter and 
three feet high. It is made of one-fourth-inch steel 
with single riveted seams and contains 19 two-inch 
flues 24 inches long, and is new. What pressure of 
steam do you think it would be safe to carry on this 
boiler, and do you think it is large enough to run a 
3 x 4-inch engine 400 revolutions per minute? 

A. — The boiler, if made reasonably well and if of 
good material, will safely stand a pressure of 150 
lbs., and the horse power of the boiler at traction en- 
gine rating will be two h. p. The engine should run 
about 500 revolutions to be equal in power to the 
boiler. 

Q. — How can you tell w T hen a boiler is foaming? 

2. — What makes a boiler foam? 

3. — How can you tell where the water level is 
when the boiler is foaming? 

4. — What is the best thing to do when the boiler 
is foaming? 

5. — What is priming? 

A. — The cylinder of your engine will very quickly 
tell you when your boiler is foaming. The water will 
get into it and cause a slapping noise. The water 
will be forced through the stuffing boxes and out of 
the exhaust pipe. 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 49 

2. — The cause of foaming in boilers is due to some 
foreign matter in the water. The grease used in 
building the boiler is the cause of the first foaming. 
Stagnant water containing decayed vegetation is very 
bad w r ater for a boiler. Water with mud or other 
sediment caused by mineral substance in the w T ater 
will cause foaming. Alkaline water is very bad and 
causes foaming very quickly. 

3. — When the boiler is foaming the water or 
foam goes to the top of the water glass gauge and it 
is impossible to see how much water there is until the 
foaming is stopped. This is best done by stopping 
the engine which will have a quieting effect on the 
water. 

4. — The best thing to do when the boiler is foam- 
ing is to change the water as soon as possible. To 
help matters for a short while (say the latter part 
of the day, just before cleaning out), the steam pres- 
sure should be kept high, but not allowed to blow off 
at the safety valve; the water should be kept low 
and the load on the engine as light as possible. 

5. — Priming in boilers is the water drawn into the 
steam pipe. It is caused by overtaxing the boiler or 
having the water too high. 

Q. — One of experience knows well that after turn- 
ing water out of boiler that a small quantity of water 
always remains in the boiler. Can such water damage 
boiler by freezing? 

2. — Is mud in boiler injurious to the plates? 

3. — Is there danger of the water gauge glass 



50 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

blowing out when the engine is under steam and 
standing idle? 

4. — Is it injurious to glass to shut the water out 
when going to dinner or for any other purpose? 

5. — Will glass become hot and break? 

6. — Is lead a good alloy for filling of any plug? 

A. — If water is left in a water bottom boiler there 
must be enough to fill the space between the two 
sheets to do any damage to the boiler as it cannot 
force the sheets otherwise. 

2. — It is not especially injurious, if it does not get 
up to the fire line. 

3. — The glass is as likely to break while boiler is 
under pressure with the engine idle as with it run- 
ning. 

4. — It is not injurious to the water glass to shut 
the water out at times, but it will surely injure its 
value as a gauge and that is what it is there for. 
Better not shut it off unless absolutely necessary, and 
turn it on again as soon as the necessity for closing it 
is past. It is not necessary to shut it off when going 
to dinner. 

5. — The expansion and contraction, owing to heat, 
is no doubt the cause of glass gauges breaking at 
times. 

6. — Tin is better than lead as it melts at a lower 
temperature. 

Q. — Why is it that a return flue boiler takes less 
coal for the same amount of work than a straight 
flue boiler? 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 5 1 

2. — Why is it that a straight flue boiler or engine 
has more power than a return flue engine while pulling 
up a steep grade? 

I have seen 12 to 16 h. p. engines pull their load 
up hills where the large 20, 22 and 25 h. p. return 
flue engines could not pull. When it comes to the 
hard pulls their piston stops. They seem to be pow- 
erless, like a gasoline engine when overloaded. 

A. — It is a fact that some return flue boilers are 
more economical on fuel than some straight flue 
boilers and some straight flue boilers are more eco- 
nomical than some return flue boilers. It all depends 
on the construction and condition of the boiler. In 
making comparison between two boilers the heating 
surface should be considered rather than the nominal 
horse power of the boiler. There is another condi- 
tion that may be misleading in such a case: if the 
engine on one boiler is more wasteful than the other, 
that boiler will take more coal to do the work. 
However, the boiler with the wasteful engine will 
take more water and the trouble can be located by 
observing the amount of w T ater used. 

2. — The boiler with the strongest engine and the 
best arranged gearing will pull the load up a steep 
hill the easiest. The writer is inclined to think the 
straight flue boiler engines are underrated, or the 
return flue boiler engines are overrated. It may be 
that neither kind are properly rated to the common 
standard of nominal horse power. The pulling qual- 
ities depend on the size of cylinder, boiler pressure, 



52 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

revolutions of engine and speed of engine on road. 
The latter is governed by ratio of the revolu- 
tions of the crank shaft to the circumference of 
the traction wheels. A small engine with gearing 
arranged so that with a certain number of revolu- 
tions of the crank shaft, it will travel slower on the 
road than a larger engine with the same number of 
revolutions of the crank shaft, and gearing arranged 
so that the speed on the road is faster, the smaller 
engine may pull more than the larger engine; but it 
will take a longer time to do the work due to the 
slow travel. 

Q. — The sheet around the safety plug in my en- 
gine is getting very thin. About one-half-inch from 
safety plug it is full thickness. Safety plug is three- 
fourths-inch in diameter. Crown sheet is good. 
How can this be fixed best? 

A. — Get a new safety plug made for i^-inch 
tap (which will be about I y^ -inch on outside of 
threads) , and cut the hole larger, which will take out 
the thin part of the sheet. 

Q. — What is the best thing to use to clean the 
lime and scale from the inside of a boiler? 

2. — Is there any successful gasoline traction en- 
gine made? 

A. — The only intelligent way to treat scale in 
boilers is to have a sample of the water analyzed. 
There are concerns that will do this free of charge 
and will recommend a compound suitable to your 
water. 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 53 

2.— Gasoline traction engines are a success, in com- 
petent hands. Their management, however, must be 
learned, same as a steam engine. 

Q. — Is burning corn cobs injurious to boilers? If 
so, how does it affect them? 

2. — Is the feeding of a little oil with water of any 
advantage to a boiler? 

A. — Corn cobs are not any more injurious to a 
boiler than wood or coal. 

2. — Oil is said to be a help in softening the scale 
in a boiler. It does not do this in all cases, depend- 
ing on the nature of the scale. A trial for a short 
time will show whether or not it is doing the work. 

Q. — Which is best; to have the old flues retipped 
when refilling, or to have all new flues put in ? 

A. — This depends on the condition of the flues. 
They may be taken out and retipped several times, 
but when they become too thin it is not good practice 
to retip them. 

Q. — Would you inform me if a "dog house" put 
on a return flue straw burner engine would help to 
any great extent in keeping the fire back and the flues 
clear of clinkers? 

A. — The "dog box" may be some advantage in 
that the fire is a little farther from the tubes, and 
the straw will be more thoroughly burned which may 
be some advantage in keeping the clinkers oft the 
tube sheet. 

Q. — Of what benefit is the water bottom in a fire 



54 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

box? I have always found it very hard to keep 
clean. 

A. — With a water bottom firebox it is easy to get 
a tight ash pan, so that the fire can be kept under 
perfect control. The lower part forms a greater re- 
ceptacle for mud and sediment and it does not need 
to be cleaned as often as an open bottom. With 
cleaning out holes properly placed it should not be 
any harder to clean than an open bottom. The open 
bottom has, however, other advantages, namely, the 
convenience of getting at the tubes in fire box and the 
renewing of the fire box should it ever become neces- 
sary. 

Q. — What is the method used in making tensile 
strength test in boiler plate? 

A. — A strip is cut from the sheet and put in proper 
shape, which is about 1 8 inches long w T ith a place in 
center of piece, nine inches long and one and one- 
half inches wide; from this size it gradually increases 
to two inches w T ide on each end. The larger part is 
for the purpose of being gripped in the testing ma- 
chine. The piece is then pulled asunder. A record 
of the elongation as well as the tensile strength is 
noted. 

Q. — I would like to find out how to jacket a boiler 
at home, so I ask you the question : Which is the 
best, the steel or wood jacket? Also how to put 
on and all the material to use. 

A. — The steel is only to protect and give finish to 
the jacket. Blocks of magnesia are used to make up 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 55 

a jacket on a locomotive. On some traction engine 
boilers asbestos plaster is used. In some cases asbes- 
tos sheets are wrapped around the boiler and others 
are covered with wood. Hair felt is the best. In 
most every case Russia iron or sheet steel is used to 
keep the material in place. However, in some cases 
the wood is put on without any outside covering and 
it is likely the latter would be the most convenient 
for a "home job." The most convenient way to put 
on a wood jacket is to take strips of tough wood 
about }i x 2 inches and put them around the boiler, 
say about every three feet with the ends fastened 
together so that they hug close to the boiler. The 
jacket which is made of strips /§x2 inches is then 
nailed to these strips, which serve two purposes: 
one, to make an air space between the jacket and the 
boiler and the other to hold the jacket on while 
being built up until the outside metal bands can be 
put on which permanently hold the jacket in place. 
The dome is treated in the same way by first bending 
thin bands around for the purpose of nailing the 
outside strips thereto. If the boiler is of the locomo- 
tive type, a strip of wood the thickness of the jacket 
can be bolted to the fire box as low as the jacket can 
be run and the outside metal bands can be nailed to 
the strip. This serves the same as if the bands went 
entirely around the boiler. 

Q. — How much coal does a jacket on a boiler 
save ? 

A. — A jacket on a boiler may in average condi- 



56 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

tions save five or ten per cent, of the fuel. In a high 
cold wind it will save more than on a still hot day. 
The amount of saving will depend on the conditions. 

Q. — Will putting potatoes in a boiler injure it if 
it removes the scale too fast ? 

A. — Potatoes will not injure the boiler, but too 
much of this diet might make it foam. 

Q. — How is hydrostatic pressure put on boilers? 

A. — A force pump is used. 

Q. — If soot is left on flues and tube sheets, will it 
protect them from rust, or will it injure them? 

A. — When the soot is dry it may not injure the 
boiler, but it will soon draw moisture from the atmos- 
phere and set up a corrosion. It should be cleaned 
away from flues and smoke box, so none w T ill be left 
in corners next to flue sheets, or elsewhere to get damp 
and rust the boiler. 

Q. — What is the correct way to stop a leaky stay 
bolt? 

A. — A stay bolt can usually be made tight by call- 
ing, but if it leaks badly and shows signs of being 
loose in the thread, a good way is to have some one 
hold a bar of iron or something heavy against one 
end of the stay bolt while the other end is riveted 
down with an ordinary size hand hammer. This 
will swell the bolt in the hole and make the threads 
fit tightly and will be more apt to keep tight than by 
simply calking. 

Q. — What is the best way to repair a split tube — 
split by expanding — -without putting in a new tube ? 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 57 

A. — The proper way to repair the tube is to take 
it out. One skilled in. the art can weld a piece on one 
end which will make up for the part which is cracked 
and the part on the other end which is made rough 
by cutting it out. Perhaps the better plan would be 
to get a new tube. 

Q. — Would a crown sheet patch riveted on the in- 
side of the sheet be safe? It is cracked between four 
flues. Would it hold with bolts and a nut on the end 
or can it not be drawn tight enough with a bolt? 

A. — -The way to patch the crown sheet of a fire- 
box is to cut the damaged part out and fit a patch on 
the hole, allowing two inches for a joint. All around 
the hole drill 11/1 6-inch holes, one inch from the 
edge of. the patch and two inches apart. Mark the 
holes on crown sheet, through the holes in the patch, 
drill the holes in crown sheet for five-eighths-inch tap. 
Tap the holes in crown sheet and countersink them in 
the patch to fit patch bolts. The patch bolts have a 
head like a wood screw, but instead of a slot in the 
head they have a small square end for screwing them 
in, which is cut off after screw is in place. Screw all 
the bolts up tight before chipping off square end and 
then calk the joint to make it water tight. 

Q. — I own a 15 h. p. compound engine. Last fall 
I had new flues put in by a good man and they had 

to be rolled twice. I got them from the 

Company. It is a locomotive boiler and the flues 
were never beaded at the smoke box. Would that 
have anything to do with them leaking on the other 
end? 



58 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

A. — Having the tubes not beaded at the smoke 
box end will not cause them to leak at the firebox 
end. The thing which causes tubes to leak more than 
anything is allowing cold air to rush into the firebox 
while the tubes are quite hot; 

Q. — How much does a rivet seam weaken a boiler 
sheet ? 

A. — A single riveted seam, properly proportioned, 
has 6$ % of strength of the sheet. A double riveted 
seam has 70 %, and a triple riveted seam has 75 % 
of the strength of the sheet. 

Q. — Will two-inch tubes last longer in a direct flue 
straw burner than three-inch ? 

2. — Does an engine with large heating surface 
steam easier than one with less heating surface, or 
does it depend on other things also? 

A. — There should be no difference as to the length 
of time a two or three-inch tube will last in a boiler. 
The two-inch has come into use more because a 
greater amount of heating surface can be obtained by 
its use, due to the fact that a much greater number 
of them can be gotten into the boiler with less dead 
space. 

2. — The engine with the greater amount of heat- 
ing surface will steam the easier. Of course, there is 
limit to the amount of heating surface a boiler will 
stand in relation to the grate surface, but there is no 
traction engine built which has too much heating 

surface. 

Q. — What is the usual cause of a boiler explo- 
sion? 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 59 

A. — The one great cause of boiler explosions is 
the inability of the boiler to withstand the pressure 
to which it is subjected at the time, and this may be 
brought about by any one of the following causes, 
viz. : 

1. — Bad design, in which the boiler may not be 
properly strengthened by stay bolts and braces ; defi- 
cient water space,, preventing the proper circulation 
of the water. 

2. — Bad workmanship, caused by the punching 
and riveting being done by ignorant and unskilled 
men. 

3. — Bad material caused by blisters, laminations, 
and the adhesion of sand or cinders in the rolling of 
the plate. 

4. — By excessive pressure caused by the gross care- 
lessness or recklessness of the engineer or by defective 
steam gauges or inoperative safety valves, they being 
screwed down too far, over weighted, jammed, or 
otherwise out of order. 

5. — By being used too long so that the sheets be- 
come thin and weakened and thus give way to the 
pressure. 

Q. — Why is the boiler problem getting to be such 
a serious one? I know of some real old boilers which 
have their first set of flues. In modern boilers the 
flues last from one to five seasons. Is it the material 
and workmanship or in the different way they are 
handled? 

A. — When the u real old" was built, it was large 



60 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

enough to run its engine to do the work which was 
required of it at that time, which was, say, a separa- 
tor. It could do this work quite easily at from 60 
lbs. to 80 lbs. boiler pressure. If these old engines 
are run at the same rate now or at a slight advance 
in pressure they are still durable engines. By and by, 
and one after another, the automatic stacker, the 
pneumatic stacker, the band cutter, the bagger and 
weigher were hitched to the separator and practically 
the same size engine and boiler is doing this addi- 
tional work to-day. When the engine is found to be . 
too small the safety valve is reset. The boiler is 
made heavier, the engine is thickened at its weak 
places, but the same general dimensions are main- 
tained. The tubes have the same spacing that they 
had, the water space around the firebox about the 
same, only a little less, due to the extra thickness of 
the boiler plate. The engine having to do much 
more work, thus the boiler has to evaporate more 
water, and the more water evaporated the more sedi- 
ment in the boiler. The pressure raised from, say, 
80 lbs. to 150 lbs., will make about 140 higher 
temperature in the boiler, thus a hotter fire. In some 
cases of spacing of tubes and water space around' fire- 
box, the space is so scant that the extreme heat drives 
the water away from the sheets and from between 
the tubes and thus causes trouble. 

Q. — The boiler and engine I have been running 
have been in use 14 years. The machine was built by 
a thresher company whose reputation for good ma- 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 6 1 

chinery and workmanship has been well established. 
In firing up after the boiler has been cooled off, I 
notice a cracking noise, very much like the noise made 
by a barrel of water in freezing weather. Do you 
consider this an indication of any weakness on the 
part of the boiler? 

A. — The strange noise you hear when firing up 
your boiler is likely due to the expansion of the metal. 
There are likely some brackets fastened to the boiler 
and an unequal expansion would cause them to creak. 
There is likely no harm being done. 

Q. — The side plates in firebox of a boiler are 
slightly bagged (one- fourth-inch) between staybolts 
where the same are set more than the regular distance 
apart, owing to slanting seams in the plates. The 
stay bolts leaked slightly, but w T ere easily tightened 
with a hammer. Boiler was steamed up later to 
normal pressure, 150 lbs., and appeared to be all 
right. As the places are covered on the outside by 
the axle brackets, making it unhandy to put in extra 
stay bolts would you consider it safe to run the boiler 
at normal pressure (150 lbs.) without putting in 
extra stay bolts? 

A. — The firebox of boiler was likely strained 
while running with a pressure which was higher than 
the working pressure of the boiler. The boiler 
should stand 150 lbs. pressure, if it was built for that 
pressure, even if the sheet is slightly sprung by mis- 
use in the past. 

Q. — Near the close of our threshing last fall we 



62 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

were troubled with the steam gauge on our engine. 
Valve was set to pop at 150 lbs., but wishing to carry 
higher pressure and the company recommending the 
boiler for 160 lbs., we set the valve to pop at that, 
according to a gauge that we used several years. 
Immediately after the steam gauge gave way, the 
ratchet being worn and the hair spring tangled. Af- 
ter adjusting a new gauge of the same make (Ash- 
croft) it registered 175 lbs. before popping. When 
shutting down w r e noticed that the side plates in fire- 
box were slightly bagged between stay bolts in places 
where the same are set more than regular distance 
apart, owing to the slanting seam. 

A. — While your boiler might have stood 160 lbs. 
without bulging the sheet betw r een the stay bolts, 175 
lbs. is evidently too much pressure for it. A good 
plan is to carry the pressure which the engine is built 
to carry; which in this case is 150 lbs. It is very 
likely the pressure was 165 lbs. before you adjusted 
the safety valve, being misled by your defective 
gauge. 

If you cut your pressure down to 150 lbs. your 
boiler will likely not give you any trouble. The 
bulges between the stay bolts will not do it any par- 
ticular harm. However, it does not look well; but 
since you know the pressure which caused the bulge 
and knowing you have 25 lbs. less in the boiler you 
can be assured that it will not bulge any more and 
that it should be quite safe at 150 lbs. pressure. 

Q. — Will you kindly advise me in regard to a 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 63 

30 h. p. engine? It is a 30 h. p. return flue not far 
from here, but I hear it foams badly. Are they liable 
to foam? What is the cause? Are they not small 
for their rated horse power? 

A. — When a boiler is too small and when it has to 
be fired hard it is apt to foam, especially if the water 
is bad. The trouble can be reduced by freely lubri- 
cating the cylinder and hooking up the valve gear as 
much as possible, thus taxing the boiler for steam as 
lightly as possible and bringing the tendency to foam 
to a minimum. 

Q. — To what pressure should a cold water test be 
made? Is this a reliable way to test a boiler? 

A. — Most authorities require double the working 
pressure for a water test. The hydraulic test when 
applied to boilers should always be accompanied by 
careful sets of gaugings, lines being strung across the 
parts to be gauged and measurements taken, before, 
during and after the test, to ascertain the amount of 
bulging, and also the permanent set, if any. A blind 
pumping up of the pressure without any regard to 
the behavior of the structure is calculated to do more 
harm than good. The test should only be applied 
under the supervision of a specially skilled man. 

Disastrous explosions have occurred from the prac- 
tice of inexperienced persons along this line. In- 
stances have occurred where boilers have burst shortly 
after they have been tested by hydraulic pressure 
much beyond the working pressure. It is like an 
engine pulling a heavy load up a steep grade and then 



64 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

breaking while going down on the other side of the 
hill when the engine is practically pulling nothing. 

Q. — I have an engine which leaks water at the 
corners (back) of the firebox. Can you give me a 
recipe for a cement which applied on the outside 
would stop it, or tell where I can buy it? It is im- 
possible to calk without taking all the gears and 
drivers off. Can get a cement that is advertised in 
Power, but don't think it is just what is needed, hence 
this letter to you. 

A. — We know of nothing which can be applied 
to the outside of a boiler to stop a leak except the 
calking tool. When you clean out the boiler put a 
few potatoes inside near the leak. They will cook up 
and get into the leak and may stop it. Horse manure 
is said to be very good for the purpose. In time the 
leaks may corrode and lime up and will save you the 
trouble of taking your engine apart. 

Q. — What causes stay bolts to leak in the side of 
a firebox boiler when it is left clean? 

2. — Is artesian well water injurious to boilers? 
That is, will they rust out and become weakened 
when not in use? Is there any rust preventive on 
the market? The artesian water around here ap- 
pears to be soft as rain water, but when it has been in 
a pail or pipe they become badly rust eaten. 

A. — Usually undue expansion and contraction of 
the sheets of the boiler. It sometimes happens that 
the water is not put into the boiler at the proper place. 
The best place to put the feed water into a boiler is 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 65 

near the front of the boiler. If the water is put in at 
the firebox end, the stay bolts are sure to leak. 

2. — When there is iron in the water it soon colors 
a tin bucket. If a boiler is thoroughly drained when 
put away and then closed up the action of the water 
can do no harm to it. 

Q. — What is the cause of a safety plug in a boiler 
melting when there is water over the crown sheet ? 

A. — This sometimes happens when the plug does 
not extend far enough through the sheet on the water 
side, and projects too far from the sheet on the fire 
side and when the tin is partly melted out, in time the 
small part which is in the sheet is blown out. A 
fusible plug should extend at least three-eighths inch 
into the water, and the cavity for the tin made cone 
shaped, so that the pressure tends to keep it tight and 
there will be no danger of melting or blowing the 
plug out when water is over the crown sheet. 

Q. — What is the cause of a main flue leaking 
around where it is riveted to the flue sheet and how 
can I fix it? 

2. — Where can I get new flues, 3^ inches by 10 
feet long at a reasonable price? 

A. — The heat, combined with the expansion and 
contraction usually starts a leak. Calk the leaks. A 
real dull cold chisel will make you a fair calking tool 
for the purpose. 

2. — You can get tubes for a boiler at any branch 
house of the engine's company at which made. They 
have them cut any length to suit their engines. 



66 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

Q. — Why are the flues so much more apt to leak 
in the firebox end than at the smoke box? I notice 
that my flues are almost tight when I am pulling a 
load, but after I shut the engine down the water runs 
out of them at a great rate. What makes it do this? 
Someone has been telling me that the flue sheets are 
not thick enough to hold the tubes, but I find that it 
is one-half-inch thick in the firebox and three-eighths 
inch thick at the smoke box end. Would a thicker 
flue sheet in the firebox keep the flues tight? Which 
is the best way to make them tight, by rolling or 
calking ? 

A.— The flues or tubes are more apt to leak in the 
firebox on account of the great heat. The water 
not being able to carry off the heat fast enough there- 
fore the surface next to the firebox becomes over- 
heated and too much expansion takes place, and the 
continual expansion and contraction works them 
loose. The reason the tubes are tight while running 
the engine and then leak after the engine is shut 
down is that while the engine is running the fire is 
made hotter and the tubes become tight in the holes 
by expansion, and after the engine is shut down the 
exhaust steam has ceased exciting the draft, there- 
fore, the tubes will cool off and contract, and in con- 
sequence become loosened. This tightening process 
from the heat will not last long. In a short time the 
tubes will become so loose that they cannot tighten 
when the extra heat comes on. There is another 
reason why the leak is not noticed while engine is 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 67 

pulling, and that is the hot fire dries up part of the 
leak and carries it through the tubes with the heated 
gases. A thicker tube sheet in the firebox would 
make the matter worse instead of better. The thick- 
er the sheet is the farther the water is from the fire 
and the less capable the water is to carry off the heat, 
and the more overheated the surface next to the fire- 
box will become. Instead of making it thicker, the 
writer thinks that if it were thinner it would do better. 

When the tubes become loosened they should be 
rolled or expanded. Calking or beading will do 
little good when they are loose. 

Q. — Do you consider it dangerous to run a traction 
engine without a safety plug? 

2. — What kind of metal is a safety plug filled 
with? 

A.- — The crown sheet of a boiler is in danger 
without a safety plug. If the water is allowed to get 
below the crown sheet, the stay bolts and seams will 
start to leak, and oftentimes the sheet will bag be- 
tween the stay bolts. 

2. — Block tin is used to fill safety plugs. Solder, 
babbitt metal or lead will do in an emergency. 

The plug is screwed out, the metal poured into the 
plug and then hammered to make it perfectly tight. 

Q. — I bought a second-hand Minneapolis engine 
a few years ago and the main flue over the fire is 
warped down a little. What would be the proper 
way to fix it? Heat and spring it back or put stay 
bolts in it to hold it? Some machine men advise me 



68 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

to leave it the way it is. Please give me your advice. 

A. — You cannot put stay bolts in the fire flue as it 
is surrounded with tubes. If it is not warped too 
much you might take the machine men's advice. If 
you want to get it up again, the best way is to heat it ; 
which can be done with a large gasoline torch or by 
placing a grate with a charcoal fire up to the place; 
then with the aid of a screw jack and hammer you 
can get it in place again. Scale is likely the cause of 
the dent, and it should be cleaned off, which can be 
done by hammering on the inside of the flue. 

Q. — Does it w r eaken a crown sheet by pounding 
out bulges by heating it or should it be done cold? 

A. — It is better to heat the plate to drive out the 
bulges. The writer is of the opinion that the bulges 
can do no harm and that it is not worth the trouble 
to straighten the plate. 

The thing to be careful of is to see that sediment 
does not collect in the bulged places, thus causing 
the sheets to become overheated and in time become 
cracked. This can be avoided by frequent examina- 
tion and cleaning. 

Q. — Is a boiler dangerous to use when the crown 
sheet has a bulge in it of about one- fourth of an inch? 
If so, how can it be remedied? 

A. — A slight bulge cannot do any harm to a crown 
sheet. The bulge was no doubt caused by low water, 
which is not good for the sheet, but after the sheet is 
slightly bulged* it is not worth your while to try to 
straighten it. 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 69 

Q. — Will it hurt a boiler to let the water stand in 
it while not in use for a week or two? Also do you 
think it good policy to use boiler compound to clean 
a boiler when using hard w T ater ? 

A. — While water left in the boiler for two weeks 
cannot injure it much, yet it is a good thing to take 
it out. Water cannot be changed too often. 

Q. — Which is best, copper ferrules in flue sheet 
in firebox or flues put in without copper ferrules? I 
notice some boilers have them and some have not. I 
recently have replaced some flues in my boiler and 
found the ferrules burned out half way through the 
flue sheet. Would not a boiler be better without 
them? 

A. — Boilers are made w T ith and without copper 
ferrules, both w T ith good success. However, it de- 
pends very largely on the workmanship in either 
case. There may be more chance for poor work in 
the use of ferrules as the usual custom is to make the 
hole in the tube sheet large enough to slip the ferrule 
in the hole and around the tube. In this case the tube 
has to be expanded enough to take up two loose 
joints. Another way is to make the holes smaller so 
that the ferrule can just be slipped in and then ex- 
panded in the hole and the tube then slipped in the 
copper lined hole and then expanded. The latest 
practice in placing tubes without ferrules is to make 
the hole in the tube sheet smaller than the tube. In 
this case the tube is reduced on the end by means of 
a die and then driven into the tube sheet to its proper 



70 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

place — this applies only to the firebox end of the 
tube. The smoke box end is made in the regular way 
which is loose enough to slip the tube through. 
The firebox end being put in the above way is 
not unduly stretched as after it is expanded it is about 
the same size at tube sheet as the other part of the 
tube. 

The writer is partial to this method. 

Q. — Is freezing injurious to a steam boiler? If 
so, in what way? Is it liable to cause any unseen 
injury that would render the boiler unsafe? What 
pressure would ice exert per square inch ? How much 
does water expand in freezing? 

Is it better to open up throttle or valve after 
steam has gone down in freezing weather ? 

A. — Freezing a boiler injures it. In a firebox 
boiler, if the bottom and sides freeze solid, the sheets 
are stripped over the stay bolts. Sometimes the 
water is run out of a boiler and mud is left 
in the bottom and sides which when frozen will also 
strip the threads from the stay bolts. Water expands 
when frozen %y 2 %. In this case the expansion will 
take place in the direction of the weakest place, so if 
there is three inches space between the sheets, the 
expansion will be something like one-fourth of an 
inch. This amount w T ould only take place in the 
bottom of a water boiler providing the water is well 
up on the sides. 

Water will freeze in the boiler when the tempera- 
ture gets below freezing point. To prevent this a 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 7 1 

slow fire should be kept up. In case of a moderate 
freeze, say, 25 ° F., very little fire in the boiler will 
take it safely through the night, especially if there is 
a moderate steam pressure on the boiler in the even- 
ing. 

There is no advantage to be derived from leav- 
ing the throttle valve open. The valve should be 
tight and steam pipe should be constructed so that 
the condensation between the valve and the boiler 
can return to the boiler and between the throttle and 
cylinder it should be properly drained. In case of a 
leaky throttle the drains will freeze up in se- 
vere weather and there is danger of bursting the 
cylinder. 

In an open bottom boiler two inches of water will 
do no harm, if frozen, as the ice not being sufficiently 
confined and being allowed to bulge up in the center 
will save the boiler from being forced out of shape. 
More than two inches may prove fatal. 

Q. — If three or four flues are leaking in a boiler, 
is it proper to bead or expand, or both? 

A. — If the flues are loose, it is necessary to expand 
them. While it might be possible to stop the leaks 
by beading yet it would not last. Usually when a 
flue leaks it needs expanding. The beading is more 
to protect the flue sheet. 

Q. — I take the liberty of asking you how to re- 
pair a flue sheet where it is cracked between two flues. 

A. — When a flue sheet is cracked between the 
flues it generally takes a new sheet. But you may 



72 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

be able to calk it so it will hold. The writer does 
not know of any way to patch the sheet as the flues 
are generally too close for patching. Careful calking 
may answer the purpose for a long time. 

Q. — The flues in my engine have been leaking a 
little lately. Sometimes they would leak for half an 
hour and then they w r ould stop entirely for a half 
day. What do you suppose would cause this? 

A. — Your leaky tubes should be rolled or ex- 
panded. If they get real hot they will close up partly 
and the excessive heat will dry up the remaining 
moisture as it comes through the leak. Never leave 
your fire door open when the engine is pulling hard 
as the inward rush of cold air will contract the ends 
of the tubes and get them loose. If possible never 
make an unduly hot fire. Your tubes will last longer, 
if you observe these points. 

Q. — How much should the ends of the flues pro- 
ject past the flue sheets to be properly beaded? 
Should the ends of the flues be annealed before 
beading? 

A. — Three-sixteenths of an inch is the right 
amount to allow for beading. New flues are usually 
soft enough for expanding and beading; but when 
old flues are replaced they should be annealed 

Q. — I have an engine in which the flues are hard 
to keep from leaking. It is a return flue boiler and 
there is no copper packing around the flues in the 
front end. Would it be advisable to ream out the 
holes in the flue sheet so as to get room for copper? 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 73 

Please give full directions for putting in flues, what 
kind of expanders to use ( sectional or roller), how 
should the flues be annealed, etc. 

A. — There are some manufacturers of traction en- 
gines who never put copper ferrules in their boilers, 
who are very successful in keeping their tubes tight. 
You would likely not be benefited by putting ferrules 
in your boiler. A great many men have trouble with 
their tubes on account of not using the boiler right. 
In some cases where straw is used, a very hot fire 
is kept burning for a time and cold air is left to rush 
through the tubes while they are in this overheated 
condition, thus contracting the ends and making 
them loose. A steady fire will save lots of trouble. 
Do not neglect the fire and then overheat the boiler 
to make up for lost time. It then becomes too hot 
and often is cooled down too fast and thus the trou- 
ble. 

Q. — Please tell me which is the better flue ex- 
pander, whether roller or spring, for flues two inches 
in diameter. 

A. — The roller or the Prosser are equally good 
flue expanders. It is simply a matter of taste. 

Q. — Which is the best way to remove leaky boiler 
stay bolts, also which is the best way to take out 
leaky flues so as not to damage flue sheet? 

A. — To take stay bolts out of the boiler, cut the 
bolt out with a cape chisel the thickness of the sheet; 
then drop it to bottom of boiler and draw it out from 
the hand hole. It is very seldom necessary to take 



74 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

stay bolts out on account of leaks. If they are re- 
riveted with a heavy hammer they can be made tight. 
Have some one to u hold on" the other end of the 
stay bolt while the riveting is going on. It should be 
hit pretty hard so as to swell the thread in the sheet 
and thereby make the bolt have a tight fit. If it is 
necessary to calk it a little the calking will then hold. 

If the flue is at the top or bottom or at a place 
where it can be gotten out through a hand hole the 
flue is cut off just inside the flue sheet. The piece 
left in flue sheet is then carefully taken out, first by 
chipping off the bead and then with a cape chisel 
making a cut in the flue, which is then easily col- 
lapsed. To take a flue out in the center of the head, 
through the flue hole, is a little more difficult. The 
bead is chipped off of each end, three or four cuts are 
made with a cape chisel at each end so as to reduce 
it in size where it was expanded in the head; if a 
copper ferrule was used the tube will not be hard to 
get out, but where copper ferrules are not used and 
the flues are limed up a great deal of work is required 
to get them out; as the lime has to be worked off by 
drawing and pulling. It sometimes pays to take a 
flue out which is all right in order that a bad one may 
be taken out through the hand hole. 

Q. — What is the best way to fasten loose boiler 
brackets to traction engine boilers? The brackets 
have worn loose on bolts and burrs cannot be drawn 
up tight enough to keep brackets from working loose. 
Can this be fixed without putting in new bolts? 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 75 

A. — Sometimes the bolts fit so tight in the boiler 
that it is impossible to draw them down tight against 
the brackets. In this case the bolts might be taken 
out, and the threads oiled and then put back. The 
taking out of the bolts and replacing them will wear 
the threads enough to allow them to go farther into 
the boiler. Some brackets are bedded in zinc. In 
this case the old zinc should be taken out, the bolts 
put in their place (not drawn up tight) and zinc run 
in again, then draw the bolts up solid. It is not nec- 
essary to put in new bolts when the old ones are good 
and tight. 

Q. — Will you please give full particulars for put- 
ting in new flues and taking out old ones? What is 
the best flue for repair work, iron or steel? Do 
copper thimbles add to the durability of a flue? Just 
how much should a flue extend beyond the flue sheet? 
How should a person proceed after the old flues are 
out? Should we put in one, let it project the right 
distance at each end, then turn it down at both ends? 
Do- you turn them over at end first with a machinist's 
round headed hammer? Can flues be put in proper 
with a flue roller, a header and hammer, or must an 
expander always be used? Please give full particu- 
lars for taking out old and putting in new flues, so that 
a man of good judgment, although he never put in 
any, can do so without the aid of a boiler maker. 

For leaky flues should the header be used after the 
flues have been rolled ? 

A. — The Shelby seamless, or charcoal lap weld 
tubes are the best. 



7 6 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

For taking out tubes, see the foregoing. A copper 
ferrule is a good thing when the hole is too large for 
the tube. When it is used, the ferrule should be ex- 
panded in the hole before the tube is put in. In new 
work some manufacturers advocate the use of fer- 
rules and some advocate making the hole at the fire- 
box end a trifle smaller than the tube and swedging 
down the end so as to drive it in place; thus after 
the tube is expanded it is not made any thinner than 
it was originally. 

A tube should extend three-sixteenths of an inch 
beyond the tube sheet for a bead. The tube is then 
expanded at both ends and then hammered over to 
make the bead. Then expand a little again, then use 
the beading tool. Be careful not to expand too 
much. There is more danger in a beginner expand- 
ing too much than not enough. 

Do not try to stop leaky flues by beading or calk- 
ing. Always use an expander. If the bead does not 
seem to lay up to the tube sheet the beading tool can 
then be used. The object is to get the tube tight in 
the hole which can only be done by the expander. 

Q. — I have a water tube boiler the body of which 
is made of cast iron one-half-inch thick. It is oblong, 
36 inches long, 16 inches w T ide and 4 inches thick. 
It stands on one edge and has 125 one-inch pipes 
screwed into one side, extending out one foot; the 
outer ends of the tubes are closed. The body has 
stay bolts cast into it two inches apart. At every 
hole in the body the iron is increased to three-fourths- 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 77 

inch thick. Is this a good kind of boiler, and what 
pressure can it carry? 

A. — Cast iron is not a safe material for boilers. 
While it may be made thick enough to stand a good 
pressure for a time, yet the uneven expansion and 
contraction of the brittle metal may cause it to weaken 
and suddenly give way, to the pressure that is on it. 
However, the manufacturers of this boiler may be 
able to tell you from experience what a safe working 
pressure would be and how long it would stand the 
pressure. 

Q. — My boiler is leaking around the fire door, 
both in the rivets and between the plate and the door 
ring, both inside and outside; and especially around 
top of fire door. Now which is the best way for stop- 
ping the leak? There are also a few stay bolts leak- 
ing a little. 

My boiler is new; has run only one season, and is 
made of 5-16-inch plate, with heavy stay bolts 4^ 
inches apart; it is a Mogul boiler. 

A. — The only thing to do is to calk the joints, 
rivets and stay bolts. The places where you cannot 
get at while it is steamed up, you can mark with chalk 
and go at it when it is cool enough to get into it. If 
you get it water tight, it will be apt to be tight under 
pressure. If you have a crosshead pump, you can fill 
the boiler full of water and by turning the engine 
by the flywheel, you can pump up a good pressure, 
which will find the leaks for you. 

Q. — The soft plug in my boiler has melted out 
with the glass gauge half full of water. I have put 



78 THE TRACTION FNGINE CATECHISM. 

an iron plug in place of it until I can get it filled and 
put back again. Please tell me what kind of metal to 
fill it with and what made it melt out when there was 
plenty of water over the crown sheet. Also how 
much more heat it requires to melt the metal than 
there is in the water at 150 lbs. of steam? 

A. — Tin is used for filling fusible plugs. The 
reason for it melting out when there was water over 
the crown sheet is that it likely projected too far into 
the firebox. That is, it did not extend far enough 
into the water. The plug should screw through the 
sheet far enough so that the water can surround the 
plug where the soft metal is held, say at least half an 
inch. 

Tin melts at about 445° F., and 150 lbs. of steam 
has about 365 ° of heat, so it takes 8o° of heat more 
than there is in the steam to melt the tin. The tin 
being so close to the fire that the water cannot carry 
oft the heat sufficiently to keep the tin to the temper- 
ature of the water, so that there is a less margin 
than 80 ° to keep the tin from melting. 

Q. — I have a 15 h. p. Advance coal burner which 
I converted into a straw burner last fall by putting in 
a fire brick arch, dead plate, suitable grates, etc. 
Also cut a four-inch hole in left side of boiler and 
put in a piece of flue. I then made a screen and 
straw chute. I was bothered considerably with 
straw sucking over end of arch and burning on end 
of flues causing a crust of ashes to form, which grad- 
ually shut off flues. By opening hole in side one 
could see the flame come over end of arch and it 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 79 

seemed to have great force or suction. I use a i^- 
inch exhaust nozzle and arch is 2 J A inches from 
crown sheet at highest point. Do you think arch is 
too close to crown sheet, thereby causing too great a 
draft over end of arch? I have always understood 
that the area of opening between arch and crown 
sheet should be nearly as large as the combined area 
of flues. I have 51 1^4 -inch flues and opening over 
arch is 3^4 x 24^4. I pull a 36 x 60 Advance sepa- 
rator, Parsons feeder, telescope elevator and Reeves 
stacker with engine. 

A. — Your construction seems to be all right, ex- 
cepting perhaps the bushing in the exhaust nozzle, 
which may be too small. This should be made as 
large as possible, allowing just enough forced 
draught to burn the straw. If it is too small, you 
will have trouble with straw flying through the fire 
and burning across the tubes. At the best there is 
enough of this to contend with, and the milder the 
exhaust the less trouble with the tube sheet. Do as 
little stirring in the fire as possible as this too adds 
to the trouble of flying straws. 

Q. — How T can safety plug which appears to be 
limed in be taken out without injuring crow r n sheet? 

A. — In taking out the safety plug you are more 
apt to injure the plug than the crown sheet. If the 
plug will stand screwing out no harm will be done, 
but if the plug is so tight that it will twist it off a 
little hammering round the plug may loosen it up. 
Care should be taken not to hammer too near the 
stay bolts as they may be loosened and made leaky. 



80 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

Q. — I have a 40 h. p. boiler which was re-flued, 
and in about six months the flues began to get holes 
in them; have had to put in about a dozen new ones. 
I would like to know what was the probable cause. 
Was it poor tubes or bad water? I w r ould say when 
taken out they were perfectly clean, only these spots 
that were pitted. 

A. — Your trouble is very likely in the water. Iron 
flues will stand bad water better than steel ones and 
the best kind you could use would be lap welded char- 
coal iron flues. 

Q. — What would you consider the standard h. p. 
of these different engines and boilers : 

Engine No. 1, has boiler waist size, 28 in.; length 
of tubes, 78 in.; number of tubes, 42, diameter, 2 
in.; length of firebox, 40 in.; width of firebox, 26 
in. ; height of firebox, 32 in; size of cylinder, 8x10. 

Engine No. 2: Length of firebox, 36 in.; w r idth 
of firebox 26 in. ; height of firebox, 32 in. ; length of 
tubes, 78 in., diameter, 2 in.; number of tubes, 42; 
waist size, 29 in.; cylinder, 8^x10. 

Engine No. 3: Waist, 28 in.; firebox, length 40 
in., width 25^ in., height 37 in.; number of tubes, 
36; length of tubes, 84 in., diameter, 2 in.; cylinder, 
9 x 12. 

2. — Will an engine, say, 7x10 cylinder, give out 
as much power on a 12 h. p. boiler as the same size 
engine, 7x10, would on a 15 h. p. boiler? Both 
boilers having the same steam pressure, say, no lbs. 

3. — Are boilers always rated by the heating sur- 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 8 1 

face? If so, how many square feet of heating surface 
is considered a horse power? 

A. — It is presumed that you have in mind nominal 
h. p. As you give no conditions under which these 
engines are to run, all we can do is to make a com- 
parison between the sizes given in question. We will 
base our calculation on engine No. i and call it a 13 
h. p. both in cylinder and boiler and if it is 13 h. p., 
No. 2 boiler would also be 13 h. p. as there is very 
little difference in the size and the cylinder of No. 2 
would be 14^ h. p. No. 3 boiler would be I2y 2 h. 
p. and the cylinder would be 16 h. p. 

There is a great difference in the rating of engines 
made in this country as each manufacturer has a dif- 
ferent standard to figure from. Some carry higher 
pressure than others; some run at different speeds 
and different points of cut-off to accomplish the same 
results. Some boilers have to be fired harder than 
others. As the power of a steam engine is very flex- 
ible there is usually a wide range as to the amount 
of work which can be done. 

2. — A 7x10 cylinder is generally termed as a 10 
h. p. There would be no difference in the power if 
put on a 12 or 15 h. p. boiler. The difference would 
be the larger boiler would steam the easier. 

3. — Boilers should always be rated by heating 
surface. Twelve square feet of heating to a nominal 
h. p. is considered good practice in this country, but 
some manufacturers give more and some less. 



CHAPTER III. 

VALVE GEAR 

Q. — Please explain the difference between a bal- 
anced and unbalanced valve on a steam engine? 

A. — In an engine slide valve the common D type 
is an unbalanced valve, and the flat pressure plate 
and piston valves are balanced. In the piston valve 
the port is in the entire way around the valve, with 
the exception of small bridges which are used in some 
cases to prevent the rings from dropping into the 
port. In the pressure plate valve the ports are on 
both sides of the valve, and in the unbalanced, or D 
valve, the ports are on one side only, which allows 
the steam to hold the valve up to its seat thereby mak- 
ing it unbalanced. 

Q. — Would you please describe the Corliss valve 
gear? 

2. — What kind of a valve is the best'? A piston 
valve or a common slide valve ? Which is the easiest 
on the link and eccentric ? 

A. — A Corliss engine has four valves, two on top 
and two at bottom of the cylinder. These valves are 
of the oscillating type and are driven by a wrist plate, 
and the wrist plate is driven by an eccentric. In mod- 
ern Corliss engines there are two eccentrics; one for 
the inlet valves, which are at the top and the other 

82 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 83 

for the exhaust valves which are at the bottom. The 
exhaust valves are positive driven, having the same 
time and length of stroke at all times, while the inlet 
valves are varied in length of stroke, thus varying the 
cut-off of the steam. This cut-off is controlled by the 
governor which makes it an automatic cut-off engine. 
The Corliss engine was the first automatic engine. 

2. — It is difficult to say which is the best. A piston 
valve runs the easier, being perfectly balanced, but in 
a short length of time is subject to leaks; while the 
common slide valve runs the harder, is harder on the 
valve gear; but wears to its seat and is apt to keep 
tight for a much longer time. 

Q. — About how much lead must a valve have? 

2. — Which is the more economical and will give 
better results, a valve set with an equal lead and an 
unequal cut-off or with an unequal lead and an equal 
cut-off, and why? 

A. — One-thirty-second of an inch is usually the 
right amount of lead for the average size traction 
engine. 

2. — There will be very little difference in the econ- 
omy of either way but the equal cut-oft will give bet- 
ter results, and will give a uniform sound to the ex- 
haust, which is desirable. 

Q. — In setting the valve on a traction engine after 
eccentric is properly set and the valve properly set 
with reference to lead and lap, having the engine on 
dead center is it necessary to set it to cut-off at three- 
fourths stroke or will this be done when the eccentric 



84 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

and valve are properly set? Explain fully and 
clearly. 

A. — In a single D valve where the lap is fixed the 
lead fixes the angle of the eccentric and the cut-off 
does not need to be considered. The cut-off will take 
care of itself. Of course in designing valve and 
ports the cut-off is an important factor- but not in the 
setting of it. 

Q. — My engine is a 12 h. p. . Now the 

directions say to give the engine as much lead on one 
side as on the other; but if I do that she will not 
exhaust right. She will exhaust harder one side than 
on the other. Otherwise she runs smooth and nice. 
The eccentrics are correct. She runs the same for- 
ward or backward. Can you tell me the cause of it? 

A. — The uneven exhaust is caused by an uneven 
cut-off. In most valve gears, including the link valve 
gear, the cut-off is not equal on each end when the 
lead is equal. To have the exhaust sound alike on 
each end the cut-off must be equal, and to get an equal 
cut-off the lead must be greater on one end than on 
the other making the lead on the end next to the crank 
shaft least. 

Q. — I have an engine and I can't get the valve 
set to my liking. When the engine is on the center 
and the reverse lever is in the last notch, the valve 
opens one-eighth of an inch more at the end in which 
the engine is running than at the other; and when it 
is reversed it opens one-eighth of an inch in the direc- 
tion which it is running. Please tell me in The 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 85 

Review how I can get it right, or if there is anything 
wrong with the valve gear. 

A. — This is a common failing in most all valve 
gears. In fact it indicates that a more important 
point than equal port opening is correct. If a valve 
gear would show an equal port opening with an equal 
lead the point of cut-off would likely be unequal. So 
the chances are, your engine is all right. This dis- 
crepancy in the port opening, lead and cut-off are 
due to the angularity of the connecting rod, and it 
can be shifted to a point where it can do the least 
harm. This discrepancy can be overcome in four- 
valve engines where each valve can be set indepen- 
dently, but in a single valve the motion cannot be 
made perfect. 

Q. — How do you set the valve on a double cylin- 
der simple portable engine running one way all the 
time; has no reverse; run backwards or same as a 
traction engine does on the road; upright used to run 
a merry-go-round. Valves are run by a single eccen- 
tric each. 

A. — Each valve is set by itself as though it w T ere 
two separate engines. 

Turn the eccentric to its extreme, throw one way 
and note the port opening, then turn it to the other 
extreme and note the port opening on the other end 
of the valve. If the one end has more opening than 
the other, the valve should be set on the stem so that 
the port opening is the same on each end, when the 
eccentric is thrown from one extreme to the other. 



86 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

When this is accomplished set the crank pin on one 
of the dead centers and turn the eccentric on the shaft 
in the direction the engine is to run until the valve 
opens the port about 1/32 of an inch on the end of 
the cylinder at which the piston is then located. Now 
fasten the eccentric on the shaft and turn the engine 
in the direction it is to run, until the crank pin is on 
the other center, and see if the lead is 1/32 of an 
inch at the other end of the valve. If it is not the 
valve can be moved a little on the stem, or the lead 
can be increased or decreased by moving the eccen- 
tric on the shaft. 

Q. — Which would be the best way to get lead 
equal on both front and back of the Woolff reverse? 
Suppose it is cutting all right on the front side. What 
would have to be done to raise or lower the stand, or 
would it do to babbitt pillow block boxes? Suppose 
it wore and raised shaft so as to throw it out of line? 

A. — The best way to get your gear in proper shape 
is to first set your reversing shaft, which can be tested 
by placing the engine on center, and then have some 
one pull the reverse lever backward and forward 
while you watch the gear. If the reversing shaft is 
in its proper place the valve rod will not move while 
the reverse lever is moved. This should be tried 
while crank pin is on each center. If there is no pro- 
vision made for shifting the reversing shaft boxes, 
they can likely be rebabbitted. This however, is not 
necessary, if the discrepancy is slight. After upper 
end, of eccentric yoke is central with the reversing 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 87 

shaft all there is left to do is to see that each end of 
the valve has the same amount of lead. This is done 
by shifting the valve. 

Q. — My engine has Woolff reverse gear. When 
engine is on center the valve moves 1/16 inch. If I 
move eccentric on shaft it will not move on one cen- 
ter, but turn it over to the other center and it makes 
valve move one-eighth inch. Dead center being 
found with a transit sent by the company. That is, 
the valve moves when the reverse lever is moved back 
and forth. Can you tell me what the trouble is? 
Is it possible to set a valve when valve moves one- 
sixteenth inch as above described? 

A. — Part of your trouble is in the setting of the 
reversing shaft. It is either too high or too low. 
It is more likely too high, as the crank shaft wears 
down and the reversing shaft does not. You can 
either fix this by raising the crank shaft box or lower- 
ing the reversing shaft box. To find out which way 
to move this you can put the engine on its center and 
have some one pull the reverse lever backward and 
forward while you watch the movement and the right 
way and part will suggest itself. Between the moving 
of the crank shaft or tumbler shaft and the eccentric 
you can get the valve to stand still, while the reverse 
lever is moved backward and forward. From your 
description of the case we think half of the error is 
in the location of the reversing shaft .to the crank 
shaft and the other half is in the location of the 
eccentric. 



88 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

Q. — Does the lead vary or is it constant when 
notched up or hooked out on the Woolff valve gear? 

A. — When a Woolff valve gear is correctly set the 
lead should be the same at all points of the cut-off. 
If it is not, the eccentric is out of place or the revers- 
ing shaft is not in its right place. When the engine is 
on dead center the upper end of the eccentric yoke 
should be central with the reversing shaft. When it 
is in this position the valve will not move while valve 
gear is reversed and the engine is on dead center. If 
the valve does move the eccentric yoke should be 
watched while reverse lever is moved and notice taken 
where it should be moved to bring the end of the yoke 
central with reversing shaft, which will accomplish a 
constant lead at all points of the cut-off. 

VALVE GEAR LINK MOTION. 

Q. — On an engine with link motion reverse, where 
two eccentrics are cast together can you change the 
lead of the valve in either or both forward and back- 
ward motion without resetting the eccentrics or having 
new ones made separate so you could move them? 

A. — The lead on a link engine can be changed 
without moving the eccentrics by changing the length 
of the valve. For more lead shorten the valve and 
for less lead lengthen it. 

Q. — What are some of the causes of the reverse 
lever rattling with a link motion when the engine is 
running backward or under, when it will run perfectly 
smooth when engine is running forward or over. Is 
there any remedy and what? 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 89 

A. — The link block may be either too loose or too 
tight on the backward motion. It may be that the 
engine is run least on the backward motion and the 
link block is too tight in the link at that point. If 
the block is loose enough in the link, you will notice 
that the link has a slight motion over the block at 
every revolution of the engine and if the block is too 
tight to allow this motion it will put an additional 
thrust on the reverse lever. 

Q. — A young man says that he set the valve on a 
traction engine with link reverse and when the engine 
was on center and the valve had one-eighth inch lead 
with reverse lever in last notch, and when moved up 
to center notch it had one-fourth-inch, and he says 
the valve was set right. What is your opinion? 
Engine had the same lead at both ends on either cen- 
ter, but when the lever was brought to the center notch 
it increased the lead one-eighth inch. 

2. — Can the lead be changed on a single eccentric 
reverse after it leaves the factory? If so, please ex- 
plain. 

A. — The link has a radius equal to the length of 
the eccentric rod, but since the center of the eccen- 
trics are not with the center of the crank shaft the link 
does not run exactly true with the shaft, so that every 
link changes the lead of the valve somewhat at the 
different points. For an ordinary size engine this 
lead is too much. One-half of this amount would 
be sufficient. 

2. — The lead can be changed on a single eccentric 
valve gear by changing the length of the valve. 



90 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

Q. — If you set a valve, link reverse, with equal 
lead, will it have equal cut-off ? 

A. — A link valve gear set with equal lead will not 
have an equal cut-off, especially if it has a slide to 
guide the valve rod. A rocker arm, such as is used on 
a locomotive can be adjusted to correct this discrep- 
ancy. 

Q. — Why does the link on my engine run perfectly 
quiet under the belt or going backward, but going 
forward it rattles and shakes reverse lever in quad- 
rant? 

A. — Your link evidently fits too tight at one end 
and possibly too loose at the other. In most links the 
link works up and down over the block while the 
engine is running. This motion is not very much, 
but if it is held rigid by the block fitting the link too 
tightly, the motion will come to the reverse lever and 
make it work in the joints. 

Q. — How shall I set the eccentrics on an engine, 
center crank, link reverse and each eccentric inde- 
pendent of the other. 

The engine I am running has a link motion. One 
of the eccentrics slipped on the shaft. Is there any 
rule for setting them? 

A. — The first thing to do is to divide the valve. 
Throw the reverse lever to the extreme end of the 
quadrant. Now turn the eccentric (which is con- 
nected to the end of the link which is in line with the 
valve rod) to one end of its travel. Note the port 
opening, then turn the eccentric to the other extreme 
and note the port opening on that end. Now move 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 9 1 

the valve so that the port opening will be the same on 
both ends. Then place the reverse lever at the other 
end of the quadrant and see if the port opening is the 
same on both ends. If it is not, the adjustment 
should be made on the eccentric rod. After this the 
engine is put on dead center and the eccentric moved 
in the direction indicated by the reverse lever till the 
the valve opens the port at the end in which the piston 
is located. Now place the reverse lever to the other 
end of the quadrant and turn the other eccentric in the 
direction the reverse lever calls for till the valve opens 
the proper amount for the lead on the end af the 
cylinder where the piston is located. The eccentrics 
are now set. The engine may be turned to the other 
center to see that the proper lead is on that end also, 
and in case of any discrepancy in the work it can be 
corrected by going over the form again. 

To simply set a slipped eccentric, put the reverse 
lever at the end that will bring the eccentric rod in 
line with the valve rod, put the engine on dead center, 
and proceed to turn the eccentric the direction indi- 
cated by the reverse lever till the proper lead is ob- 
tained at the end of the cylinder at which the piston 
is located. Turn the engine over and watch the port 
opening, running both forward and backward to see 
that you have not made any mistake. 

Q. — Should not the eccentrics on a Nichols & 
Shepard engine be exactly opposite one another? My 
reverse jerks, and I thought that was the trouble. 
The engine is quite old. 

A. — The eccentrics should not be opposite to each 



92 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

other on your engine. If you want to see if they are 
in their place, you can examine the valve, and if it 
has the proper lead on each end, your eccentrics are 
all right ; however, you don't need to go to that much 
trouble. An experienced man should tell by the ex- 
haust of the engine if the valve is working right, or if 
the eccentrics are in their proper place. You no 
doubt have some looseness about the reverse motion. 
Plenty of cylinder oil is the best remedy for troubles 
of this kind. 

Q. — What is the cause of my engine exhausting 
heavy on one side and the valve stem throw into the 
steam chest quick and then pull out slow and do the 
same thing reversed. The eccentrics are keyed to the 
main shaft and the cams are properly divided so as 
to divide the travel of the valve even, but it does it by 
drawing the stem out slow and pushing it back quick. 
What is the cause and what is the remedy ? When I 
put my single cam on I get an even exhaust and the 
stem of the valve travels even, but when I put the 
link on it throws it all off. 

A. — If your eccentrics are keyed to the shaft you 
should not have any trouble in getting the balance of 
the gear properly adjusted. Throw the reverse lever 
to the end of the quadrant for the forward motion, 
see that the reach rod is of proper length so that the 
link block goes to the end of the link, then adjust the 
valve so that you have the same amount of lead at 
each end. Now reverse the engine throwing the re- 
verse lever to the end of the quadrant and see that 
you have again the same amount of lead at each end 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 93 

of the valve. The valve should not be moved on 
the stem in setting for the second motion, but all 
adjustment should be done by the eccentric rod. 

Q. — How do you set a Russell valve? 

A. — A Russell or Giddings valve is a double 
ported and double D valve. There are two exhaust 
ports in the cylinder to match the two exhaust cavi- 
ties in the valve. However, it takes steam on the end 
like a common D valve, yet the ends of the valve 
proper cannot be seen when the valve is in its place, 
there being a cover over the valve which forms a 
steam chamber, thus there is no chance to see the ends 
of the valve proper nor the cylinder ports. There 
are marks on the bottom of the steam chest which 
correspond to the ports in the cylinder, also marks 
on the back of the valve which correspond to the end 
of the valve where the steam is admitted. Thus the 
valve can be divided; that is, the same amount of lead 
can be had on each end by shifting the valves. There 
being a right-hand thread on the one end of the rod 
and a left-hand thread on the other. The eccentric is 
keyed to the shaft and never needs any attention. 

If the engine is of the simple type, the valve can 
be set by the sound of the exhaust. The valve stem 
can be turned while the engine is at work, and by 
turning the stem the proper place of the valve can 
easily be found by observing the sound of the ex- 
haust. The low pressure valve of a compound engine 
can also be set by the sound of the exhaust. 

Another easy way to set a Gidding's valve is to 
take the plugs out of each end of the cylinder (these 



94 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

holes are provided for the indicator) then run the 
engine allowing the steam to blow out the holes. 
Now hook the reverse lever as close to the center 
notch as possible, and if the valve is not properly set, 
you will find one end will blow harder than the other. 
There are means on the valve rod to adjust the valve 
without taking off the steam chest cover. You will 
find this method perfectly satisfactory as it can be set 
in this way as accurately as with an indicator. 

Q. — Please inform me how to set the piston or 
balanced valve used on the Peerless traction engine. 
Please do not say it is done by indirect measurement. 
I would like to have the details. 

A. — Aside from measurements and the aid of an 
engine indicator there is nothing so effective as set- 
ting a valve by the sound of the exhaust. When both 
ends of the cylinder sound alike the valve is properly 
set, as far as the cut-off is concerned, and as all valve 
gears of the type mentioned have the eccentric fixed 
on the shaft so that it cannot be changed, there is only 
the cut-off to adjust. Move the valve and note the 
results. You will soon find whether you have made 
it better or worse, and the case will suggest how to 
move it till properly adjusted. 

Q. — Will a balanced valve develop enough more 
power or make saving enough over a plain slide 
valve to pay the expense of putting one in an engine? 

A. — A balanced valve which does not leak any 
more than an unbalanced one (other conditions being 
equal) will certainly have the advantage, as the 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 95 

power which it takes to run the unbalanced valve can 
be used on the load of the engine. 

The unbalanced valve has a tendency to wear to its 
seat and keep tight, but the balanced valve is apt to 
become leaky and hard to keep steam tight, and the 
saving in power w T hich it takes to run it is lost in the 
amount it leaks more than the unbalanced valve. 
However, if the balanced valve is kept steam tight, 
either by adjustment or renewing the parts, it wall 
enable the engine to give off more power. Whether 
it will pay to make a change of this kind depends on 
what kind of a valve it is changed from and what kind 
it is changed to, as there are some balanced valves 
which are not as good as a common D unbalanced 
valve. 

Q. — What is the remedy for a valve that, after 
the reverse is put in the center notch and steam ad- 
mitted, will make two or three revolutions one way 
and then make two or three the other way, and keep 
on reducing the number of revolutions until it finally 
stops? The valve is a piston valve. 

2. — How T can a piston valve seat be case hard- 
ened; and what kind of composition would the editor 
advise for rings of such a valve? 

A. — Reduce the lead of the valve. This lead may 
be all on one end, due to shifting the valve one way, 
or if not, the valve lead should be changed by shift- 
ing that part of the valve gear that will accomplish 
it. A leaky valve will sometimes have the same 
effect. 

2. — A piston valve seat cannot be hardened when 



96 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

cast in one piece with the cylinder. Cylinders are 
usually made of close grained hard iron. The only 
means of hardening the seat would be to use a bush- 
ing which can be hardened to any degree and then 
ground to a fit and pressed in place. The valve rings 
or piston rings should be of good cast iron, not too 
hard. 

VALVE GEAR MARSH. 

Q. — Can you tell how to set the valve correctly on 
an Advance engine (Marsh reverse). I want to 
babbitt the reverse boxes and I will have to set it over. 
Tell me in a plain way. 

A. — Get the engine on the center, placing the crank 
pin toward the cylinder, then place the reverse lever 
in the center notch, then turn the reverse gear on the 
crank shaft until the crank pin of the reverse gear 
shaft is on its center nearest the crank shaft or away 
from the cylinder. This position you estimate by 
eye. Then tighten the screws in the reverse gear on 
the crank shaft slightly and temporarily. Then as a 
preliminary in the operation set the screws that are in 
the top and bottom of the stop plate so they will pro- 
ject inward about one-half inch from the lugs on the 
stop plate, though it is not important that they should 
be set exact, as this is not the correct and final position 
for them. Then move the reverse lever down until 
the reverse box strikes the screw in the bottom of the 
stop plate, and fasten the reverse lever in that posi- 
tion. Now, with the engine still on the center nearest 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 97 

the cylinder set the valve on the valve stem with the 
edge of the valve even with the edge of the port in 
the valve seat, or so that the valve just covers the 
port, then tighten the screws slightly that hold the 
valve to the valve stem. Then, with the engine still 
on the same center, move the reverse lever in the op- 
posite direction until the reverse box strikes the screw 
in the top of the stop plate, and fasten the lever in 
that position. If the edge of the valve does not 
return to the edge of the port, or if it laps by the edge 
of the port, make a mark on the valve seat even with 
the edge of the valve. Now make another mark half 
way between the edge of the port and the first mark, 
then loosen the screws in the reverse gear on the crank 
shaft and turn the gear until the edge of the valve 
stops at the center mark just made. Now tighten 
securely the screws in the reverse gear on the crank 
shaft. After this operation the gear is supposed to 
be properly located. 

The next step in the operation is to loosen the valve 
on the stem and set it so there will be about one- 
thirty-second of an inch opening between the edge of 
the valve and the port ; this is what we term the lead, 
and the valve should now be securely fastened on the 
stem while in that position, the engine still being on 
the center nearest the cylinder. The next step in the 
operation is to place the crank pin of the engine on 
the opposite center or away from the cylinder. The 
reverse lever being in the top notch the engine should 
be turned over in centering it. It should be turned in 
this manner in order to take up the lost motion in 



98 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

the reverse gear. The engine is thus centered to 
determine the lead on the opposite end of the cylin- 
der. With the reverse lever still in the top notch, if 
the lead is found to be more than one-thirty-second of 
an inch, turn the set screw into the lug at the top of 
the stop plate until the proper lead is secured. If it is 
found to be less than one-thirty-second of an inch, 
turn the set screw out of the lug at the top of the 
stop plate until the proper lead is secured. Having 
thus secured the proper lead the jamb nuts on the set 
screws should be securely tightened. 

Q. — How can I get the slide valve in my engine 
steam tight ? 

A. — Slide valves and seats are made steam tight by 
scraping them to a true surface with a scraper, accord- 
ing to the indications of a true surface. The valve 
and face should be trued up separately. The valve is 
scraped first in the following manner : Take a little 
red lead or lamp black mixed with a little oil, and 
smear it over the surface of the surface plate with 
your fingers, wiping it nearly dry with the palm of 
your hand. Then slide the valve over the surface 
plate and wherever the dressing on the surface plate 
rubs off on the valve face it should be scraped down, 
as the marks on the valve face indicate the high 
places. Continue this operation until the spots be- 
come close together and get to be quite a number of 
them. It is not safe to have a large spot on the valve 
which you cannot mark by rubbing it on the surface 
plate, as it may be quite hollow at the spot. When 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 99 

the spots are close together it follows that the places 
between the spots cannot be very low. 

After the surface of the valve is thus made straight 
the valve seat is treated in the same manner, by using 
the valve to mark the seat instead of the surface plate 
used to mark the valve. Rub the dressing (oil, or 
red lead or lamp black) on the valve and slide the 
valve over the seat in the same way it is moved by the 
eccentric and proceed to reduce the high places with 
a scraper indicated by the dressing. 

A good way to make a scraper is to grind off the 
end of a scraper and also grind the teeth of the file 
off at the end. The cutting edge of the scraper should 
not be as a knife edge, but a square edge, just like the 
end of a board. 

Q. — Is a valve after once properly set very apt to 
come out of order? 

A. — A valve or eccentric is apt to slip, if they are 
not properly secured, but in some engines the eccentric 
is keyed to the shaft and the valve is so securely fast- 
ened that it is almost impossible for it to get loose. 
Yet in all engines the valve gets out of place in time, 
due to the wear in the bearings of the engine. This, 
however, should not affect the valve to any marked 
degree within a few years of work. Some engines 
will need attention in this respect sooner than others 
and whether or not it needs attention can always be 
noticed by the exhaust. If the exhaust is square your 
valve is likely all right, but if it is "lame," or louder 
on one end than the other, it should be looked after, 

LOFC, 



IOO THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

and usually the only thing that is needed in this case 
is simply the shifting of the valve. 

Q. — There is something wrong with the valve 
gear of my engine. When I place the reverse lever in 
the center notch while the throttle valve is open, the 
engine will continue to run. If I reverse the engine 
and again place the lever in the center notch, it will 
continue to run in the reversed direction. I will say 
that the engine will only do this running without any 
load. Should it not stop when the reverse lever is in 
the center notch? Don't this show that there is some- 
thing wrong? How can this be fixed? I sent to the 
factory for a man, and he went over the engine, 
moved the valve on the stem a trifle, set up the boxes 
a little and it acted all right when he was here, but in 
a few days I discovered that it was all wrong again. 
The eccentric is keyed on the shaft; do you think it 
should be moved? Do you think this trouble will 
have a bad effect on the power and economy of the 
engine? If so, I would very much like to know what 
to do for it. 

A. — This is a very common freak of reversing 
engine with a constant lead. That is when the engine 
has the same amount of lead at all points of cut-off, 
and therefore it will have the same lead when the 
reverse lever is in the center notch. Therefore it 
opens the port when the lever is in the center notch, 
which fills the clearance with steam, and the expan- 
sion thereof is sufficient to run the empty engine. 
This is not a fault of the engine and does not show 
that there is anything out of adjustment. In fact, 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 10 1 

your engine must be set very accurately, as it often 
happens that an engine will run one way when the re- 
verse lever is in the center notch while the throttle 
is open, but when an engine will run either way under 
the foregoing conditions, it shows that the rod con- 
necting the reverse lever to the valve gear proper must 
be of the correct length. 

If the eccentric is keyed to the shaft, this shows 
that it is in the place which the builder intended it to 
be. The fact that the engine did not run when the 
throttle was open and reverse lever in the center notch 
after the man from the factory adjusted it shows that 
he made one or more of the boxes tight enough to 
make enough friction to prevent the engine running 
with the little steam which the engine gets with the 
reverse lever in the center notch. Tight stuffing 
boxes will make enough friction to hold an engine 
under such conditions. The fact that it runs so eas- 
ily shows that it must be will lined up and in good 
condition generally, also w T ell oiled. 

Q. — I have a complete Russell outfit 20 h. p. 
9x13 engine, 1903 make, 40x60 separator, Case 
feeder, Perfection weigher, as good rig as there is in 
the country. 

Engine uses about 35 bbl. of water a day, 1200 
lbs. to 1500 lbs. of coal a day, careful firing. But 
valve clicks rather hard, seems to me there isn't 
enough back pressure, would it harm if those two 
little holes in bottom of valve be made 1/32 inch 
larger so as to keep valve on seat better? I put one 



102 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

inch washer in spring pocket, which gave but little 
relief. 

A. — In answering it may be best to explain that 
the valve in this engine is in reality a moving steam 
chest, wherein the live steam is within the valve and 
just enough pressure is supposed to be maintained in 
the steam chest to keep the valve from leaving its 
seat. 

It has been found by experiment that it requires 
45% of the steam pipe pressure in the chest to keep 
the valve to its seat. 

Now it is clear that if any leaks occur that tend to 
reduce this pressure, the valve will leave its seat and 
slap and large leaks will be the result. 

The little drain cock under the chest may be 
leaking and this would reduce the pressure. Or 
sometimes the engineer is careless in packing his stuf- 
fing box and a leak will occur around the valve stem 
from this cause, which of course reduces the pressure 
in the steam chest and causes the valve to slap and 
leak. 

If these two causes are looked after and remedied 
the chances are that the valve w T ill stay to its seat and 
the leakage complained of will be stopped unless, in- 
deed, the valve has been allowed at some time or 
other to become dry and scored on its surface, as well 
as that of the valve seat. The remedy for this defect 
is re-scraping of the valve and seat. 

Q. — Which is the proper way to set the valve and 
eccentrics on a Star engine, with link reverse ? Please 
give full detail of setting the valve, and the true way 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. IO3 

of getting the off center up and down, are there any 
by measuring on slides? 

A. — Place the reverse lever in end notch so that 
block is at end of link, divide the valve by turning 
eccentric from one extreme to the other, then set 
crank pin on center and move eccentric in advance 
of crank pin till proper lead is obtained, now place 
reverse lever in the other end notch and turn the 
other eccentric in the opposite direction to the former 
in advance of the crank pin till the proper lead is 
obtained. This will place both eccentrics and give 
equal lead on each end but not an equal cut-off due to 
the angularity of the connecting rod. To get an 
equal cut-off (providing you have given 1/1 6-inch 
lead) shift the valve so that you get 1/3 2-inch on 
cylinder head and 3/32-inch on end toward the crank. 
This will tend to equalize the cut-off which is of 
more importance than the lead. A rule for finding 
the center of the engine is given with illustrations 
elsewhere in this book. 

Q. — With the wrist pin set on the dead center and 
the valve set with one-sixteenth outside lead how 
much should the inside lead be for best economy of 
steam? Engine 20 h. p., runs 240 revolutions per 
minute. 

A. — On a 20 h. p. engine under average conditions 
the slide valve would have about one-sixteenth of an 
inch inside lap on a simple engine and one-eighth of 
an inch inside lead on a compound engine. The rea- 
son for having more opening for the exhaust on a 
compound engine is that the receiver pressure is 



104 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

greater than the back pressure in the simple engine 
and would get the compression too high in the high 
pressure cylinder, and in the low pressure cylinder the 
initial pressure is so low that if it would start to com- 
press as soon as the simple engine the compression 
would get above the initial pressure. 

Q. — I have a Woolff compound engine that runs 
nice and smooth with 100 lbs. of steam or less; 
when it gets above 100 lbs. it jerks and pounds on the 
reverse gear; especially so with a light load. What 
is the cause and how can I remedy it? 

A. — A lack of cylinder oil is often the cause of a 
hard running valve gear. The increased pressure 
makes the valve run harder, due to extra load. There 
may be some worn parts in the valve gear and the 
extra load will cause it to "jerk" or rattle. It is likely 
that if you take up all lost motion in your valve gear 
and use a good quality of cylinder oil and plenty of 
it you will get your engine over its trouble. 

Q. — When my Woolff reverse gear is hooked up 
to one-half or three-fifths it will run smooth, but hook 
it out to three- fourths or full cut-off, it will jerk the 
reverse lever in the quadrant as if it would break it. 
What is the cause? 

A. — When a Woolff gear is cutting off at a late cut- 
off the reversing guide or link is at a more obtuse 
angle to the eccentric than when it is cutting off at an 
early cut-off. Notice when you have the reverse 
lever in the center notch the guide is vertical and 
offers little resistance, but as the cut-off is increased 
the angle of resistance becomes greater and therefore 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 105 

makes it work harder. Plenty of oil to the slide valve 
will help this "jerk." 

Q. — Will you please inform me in what position 
the eccentric ought to stand when the crank shaft is 
on center, and in what position ought the crank shaft 
to stand when the exhaust escapes ? 

A. — In a Woolff valve gear the eccentric is oppo- 
site the crank pin. In a link valve gear the eccentrics 
are about 120 from the crank pin, one in each direc- 
tion. In a shifting valve gear or reverse gear when 
the eccentric moves across the shaft to vary the cut- 
off the angle of the eccentric in relation to the crank 
pin changes as the eccentric is shifted. In any case 
the position of the eccentric depends on the lap of the 
valve. The exhaust should occur at about seven- 
eighths of the stroke of the piston. This point 
changes with the cut-off in a single valve engine. The 
later the cut-off the later the exhaust, the earlier the 
cut-off the earlier the release or exhaust. 

Q. — Is the Woolff valve gear perfect? If so, 
why will the engine run with lever in center notch ? 

A. — We hardly think there is anything perfect 
about machinery. When a Woolff gear is in proper 
adjustment it comes very close to perfection. If your 
engine only runs one way while reverse lever is in 
center notch, this would indicate that the rod running 
from the reverse lever to the reversing shaft, is either 
too long or too short; but if the engine will run both 
backward and forward while reverse lever is in cen- 
ter notch, this will indicate that the valve has too 
much lead. However, the latter is hard to fix in this 



106 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

class of valve gear and will do no harm, and the 
former case can be easily fixed by simply changing the 
rod mentioned. 

Q. — I have a Woolff gear that shows the same 
lead with the reverse lever in any position, but I can't 
get the valve to travel the same when lever is for- 
ward; the front port opens full and back port lacks 
about one-fourth of an inch of opening full. When 
lever is thrown back the back port opens full and the 
front port lacks about one-fourth of an inch of open- 
ing. I have an adjustable reverse rod and have tried 
it with many different lengths, but can't get it to 
travel equally. Should the Woolff exhaust alike on 
both sides? One engineer says it should, while an- 
other says it does not and can't be made to. 

A. — If your Woolff valve gear is set with equal 
lead you have it set to the best advantage. It is the 
nature of the mechanism to open one port wider 
than the other. The point which is made in this gear 
is to have a very near uniform cut-off. The end 
which has the smallest port opening has the latest cut- 
off and the port which has the largest port opening 
has the shortest cut-off. Thus making the work done 
on each end of the cylinder about equal. 

Q. — Suppose an engine fitted with a Woolff valve- 
gear has too much lead; how is this remedied? 

A. — The easiest way to reduce the lead on a 
Woolff valve-gear is to make the valve longer. There 
is another way to accomplish this, but it is more troub- 
lesome. 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 107 

Q. — Is the reverse block to the Woolff reverse ex- 
actly over the crank shaft, and if not, why? 

A. — The reversing shaft is usually set directly 
over the crank shaft, yet this is not essential, as it may 
be set a few degrees off the vertical center line, pro- 
viding the eccentric is set the same number of degrees 
off the center line drawn through the crank pin and 
crank shaft. 

Q. — Why don't threshing machine manufacturers 
build automatic engines ? Why could not such an en- 
gine be built in connection with Woolff valve gear, 
so they could be reversed as readily as simple engines ? 
I do not see why they w r ould be much more expensive 
to build because they would not require a throttling 
governor. They would be more economical. Some 
engines I think require more fuel than they ought to 
use for the power furnished. 

A. — In the first place the engine would be more 
expensive. It would be also harder to keep in order. 
Simplicity is the thing sought for in the building of a 
tracfion engine. However, the day may come when 
traction engines w T ill have an automatic cut-off. There 
are already automatic, reversing valve gears worked 
out but not as yet on the market. 

Q. — In the question of G. W. S. in the December 
number it was stated that the common D slide valve 
would be lifted from its seat in case there was more 
water in the cylinder than the clearance would hold. 
Now, in order that the valve may be lifted from its 
seat the pressure must be raised high enough in the 
steam port so that the pressure multiplied by the area 



108 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

of the port will equal the pressure in the steam chest 
multiplied by the area of the back of valve plus the 
friction of raising the valve. Would not that pres- 
sure break the cylinder head? 

A. — In slide valve engines the cylinder and cylin- 
der heads can be broken, due to water shocks, when 
they are weak, but if properly proportioned they 
will stand the pressure required to drive the valve 
from its seat and thereby allow the water to escape 
from the cylinder. The pressure in the cylinder has 
to be from 25 to 50 per cent, in excess of the pres- 
sure in the steam chest to drive it from its seat. 
This acts as a safety valve to the cylinder. In case of 
a piston or a pressure plate valve with no provision 
for the latter to lift from its seat, the general practice 
is to have relief valves made somewhat on the plan 
of a pop safety valve, to insure the safety of the cyl- 
inder and other parts which are affected by the water 
shock. 



CHAPTER IV. 

HORSE POWER. 

Q. — How was the standard for h. p. rating estab- 
lished? 

A. — The first application of the steam engine as 
a substitute for horses was in hoisting coal from 
mines. James Watt found the best English draft 
horse would raise a weight of 150 lbs., walking at a 
pace of two and one-half miles per hour, or 220 feet 
per minute; hence 150 X 220 = 33,000, or the same 
thing, 33,000 lbs. raised one foot per minute. This 
duty is the recognized English standard of the indi- 
cated horse power (h. p.) as applied to steam en- 
gines, and recognized by all engine builders in the 
United States. It follows that an engine having a 
piston of 10 square inches area, working with a mean 
•effective pressure (m. e. p.) of 15 lbs. (10 X 15 = 
150) would be equal in strength to that of a horse 
raising 150 lbs. and a piston speed of 220 feet per 
minute (10X15X220=33,000) is the equivalent of 
the work done by the horse. Or in modern traction 
engine practice, a piston having 1 y 2 square inch area, 
working with a m. e. p. of 55 lbs., and a piston speed 
of 400 per minute (1.5X55X400=33,000) would 
also be equivalent to the work done by the horse. 

Q. — What is meant by mean effective pressure? 

109 



IIO THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

2. — How do you get it? 

A. — Mean effective pressure means the average 
pressure exerted on the piston throughout the entire 
stroke of the engine. 

2. — Mean effective pressure is arrived at by the 
aid of the engine indicator, which records the pres- 
sure at all parts of the stroke, with a pencil on a card. 

Q. — In finding the h. p. of an engine how do you 
find the nearly exact mean effective steam pressure on 
the square inch of the piston, without the use of an 
indicator? For instance, when there is a steam pres- 
sure in the boiler of 130 lbs. per square inch. I have 
tried to figure with one-third of actual boiler pressure, 
but my figures do not correspond with those of engine 
builders. 

A. — One-third of the boiler pressure is a good rule 
to arrive at the approximate mean effective pressure. 
This will be an attempt at the actual rating. The 
nominal h. p. rating, such as given in the catalogues 
of traction engines is about one-half of the actual h. 
p. rating. 

Q. — I would like to have you send me, if you will, 
the rules for finding the h. p. of an engine. 

A. — The rule for figuring the h. p. of an engine 
is to multiply the area of the piston in inches by the 
piston speed in feet per minute by the mean effective 
pressure and divide by 33,000; this will give the in- 
dicated h. p. The mean effective pressure is arrived, 
at by the aid of the indicator. To arrive at the nom- 
inal h. p. as used by traction engine builders in this 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. Ill 

country a mean effective pressure of 20 lbs. can be 
used. 

The heating surface of a boiler is computed in 
square feet. To compute the surface in the tubes 
multiply the circumference in inches of the outside by 
the length and by the number of tubes, and divide 
by 144. This will give the area in square feet. Find 
the area of each sheet in the firebox above the grate 
line, deduct the flue holes and fire door hole, also the 
front tube sheet. Reduce this also to square feet. 
After having the total surface in square feet, divide 
by, say, 12, which will give the h. p. Some builders 
give 10, some 11, some 12, and some 13 square feet 
of heating surface to the h. p. 

Q. — How can I find the power of an engine with- 
out an indicator? 

A. — An engine indicator or a dynamometer is nec- 
essary to find the amount of power which is used 
to run a certain machine; but if the maximum 
power of an engine is required, the Prony brake will 
answer the purpose very well. The difference in re- 
sults is that the indicator gives the power developed 
in the cylinder, which is more power than the dyna- 
mometer or the brake will show. The difference is 
caused by the friction of the engine w T hich is 10 or 15 
%. Brake h. p., or power measured by a dynamome- 
ter, is known as available h. p. 

A Prony brake can be very easily constructed. The 
accompanying drawing shows how one can be made. 
The bolts are drawn up till the desired load is ob- 
tained and the pressure is then weighed on a scale. 



112 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



C, Is a weight used to counterbalance the beam, so 
that when everything is at rest, the beam rests on 
center, A, and there is no pressure on the scales. 

There are two ways in which the h. p. of an engine 
can be figured. If the distance from A to B is not as 
per drawing the following is necessary. The distance 
from A to B in feet, multiplied by 2, multiplied by 
3. 141 6, multiplied by the pressure on the scales, mul- 




tiplied by the revolutions per minute, and divided by 
33,000, equals the h. p. This is the regular rule. 
But when the distance from A to B is 5 feet 3 inches, 
the problem can be very much shortened, thus; Pres- 
sure on scales multiplied by revolutions per minute 
and divided by 1,000 equals h. p. This applies to 
gas engines as well as steam engines, and to motors of 
all kinds. 

Q. — Should a traction draw as much as its rated h. 
p., say attached to plows? 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 13 

A. — Three horses can pull a gang of two plows, 
which would be one and one-half horses to each plow. 
It will take about one and three-fourths h. p. nominal 
to each plow. This statement is based on the work 
done by a 25 h. p. engine. 

Q. — Which engine would develop the most power, 
one with a cylinder 8*4 x 10 with a balanced piston 
valve, the other 8% x XI with a common slide valve 
and locomotive link reverse ? 

A. — All other things being equal the larger engine 
would develop the most power. While the piston 
valve would run easier it would not make as much 
difference as one inch on the stroke of the engine. 
The difference in the power would be about iy 2 h. p. 
(nominal) in favor of the larger engine. 

Q. — Kindly advise me which of the following is 
the stronger engine and give the horse power of each, 
viz.: 4^2 x 8 cylinder, 36-inch flywheel, 270 revolu- 
tions per minute, 100 lbs. boiler pressure; 5x6 cyl- 
inder, 33-inch flywheel, 215 revolutions per minute, 
100 lbs. boiler pressure. What would be the power 
of the 5 x 6 at 270 revolutions? 

The 4^2 x8 engine has a connecting rod about four 
inches longer than the 5x6. Would this make any 
difference in the power? 

A. — A reasonable mean effective pressure for 100 
lbs boiler pressure would be 35 lbs. The 4^ x 8 en- 
gine running at 270 revolutions per minute will de- 
velope 6 h. p. ; the 5x6 engine running at 215 revo- 
lutions per minute will develope 4/2 h. p., and the 



114 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

latter engine running at 270 revolutions per minute 
will develope a little more than 5 y 2 h. p. 

The longer stroke engine should have the longer 
connecting rod. This, however, will not make any 
difference in the power. 

The size of the flywheel does not influence the 
power of the engines, as the source of power is in the 
cylinder. However, the flywheel can be so out of 
proportion that the power of the engine is poorly 
applied. For instance if the flywheel is too large for 
the drive pulley on the machine, which is run by the 
engine, then the speed of the engine has to be cut 
down and the power is cut down in proportion. 

Q. — If a 10 h. p. engine has a 14-inch pinion on 
main shaft, w 7 ill one with a 7-inch pinion make a 20 
h. p.? 

A. — Simply changing the size of the pinion on 
crank shaft will not change the pow r er of the engine. 
With a given number of revolutions of the crank 
shaft and with the pinion on crank shaft reduced to 
one-half the size, the engine will pull twice the load, 
but it will also take twice as much time to do it in, 
and the horse pow T er will be the same. But by reduc- 
ing the drive pinion to one-half the size and running 
the crank shaft twice as fast, the power will then be 
doubled. 

Q. — Which of the following engines will show the 
most horse power under belt? A Woolff tandem 
compound, high pressure cylinder being 6]A inches 
diameter by 10 inches stroke, and low pressure being 
924 inches diameter by 10 inches; mean effective 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 115 

pressure 150 lbs., 220 revolutions per minute, and 
flywheel being 40 inches diameter by 10-inch face, or 
a double valve tandem compound having the cylinders 
separated for the stuffing boxes with high pressure 
cylinder 6 J / 2 inches diameter by 10 inches stroke, and 
the low pressure cylinder being 10 inches diameter 
by 10 inches stroke, mean effective pressure being 155 
lbs., 225 revolutions with a 36-inch flywheel by 10- 
inch face. 

A. — Figuring the case with the same number of 
total expansions in each engine the latter engine 
would develop 12 % more power than the former; 
due to the increase in diameter of low pressure cylin- 
der and also to increase in speed and pressure. 

The mean effective pressure given is much higher 
than is found in traction engine practice. 

Q. — In looking about for a 20 h. p. engine and 
studying the different catalogues I was considerably 
bothered. They ranged in stroke from 10 to 13 
inches and in diameter from %y 2 to 10 inches in single 
engines. It seems to me there must be considerable 
difference in power of these engines. I understand 
that speed and pressure make quite a difference, but 
would like to know the relative power of a number 
of 20 h. p. engines figured at the same speed and 
pressure. Here are all the sizes of 20 h. p. engines I 
could find: 10x10, 8^x12, 9*4x11, 9x10, 
9x12, 8^x12, 10 x 10 J4, 8% x 10^, 8^x12^, 
9x13, 10x11, 9^x10, 8^4xio, 9x11, two 6}ixio}4 
and two 6 J / 2 x 12. Say the 10 x 10 engine is 20 h. p., 



Il6 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

and figure them all at that rate, that is, at the same 
speed and pressure. 

A. — It is not exactly fair to figure a lot of engines 
at the same rate, as some engines are designed to 
carry a higher pressure and some to run faster than 
others. However, we can*make a comparison of the 
sizes. The 20 h. p. is, understand, nominal rating 
and if we consider the 10 x 10 engine 20 h. p. the 
8^ xi2 is 18^2 h. p.; the 9*4 x 11, i8j4 h. p.; 
9 x 10, 16 h. p.; 9 x 12, 19^ h. p.; 8% x 12, 19 h. 
p.; 8^x12, 17 h. p.; 10x10^4, 20J/2 h. p.; 
8% x 10^, 16 h. p.; 9 x 13, 21 h. p.; 10 x 11, 22 
h. p. ; gy 2 x 10, 18 h. p.; 8% x 10, 16 h. p. ; 9x11, 
17^ h. p.; two 6}i x 10*4 > i8j^ h. p., and two 
6y 2 x 13, 20 h. p. 

It will be seen that there is five nominal h. p. differ- 
ence between these engines. The largest one may be 
the slowest in speed and carrying the lowest pressure 
and the smallest may run the fastest and carry the 
highest pressure, thus making the power about equal. 

Q. — Which will give the most power, an engine 
with a %y 2 x 10 cylinder running 240 revolutions per 
minute, or an engine with a 8x12 cylinder running 
220 revolutions per minute? 

2. — Which will give the most power; an engine 
with 8x8 cylinder running 250 revolutions per min- 
ute or an engine with a 7^ x 12 cylinder running 
220 revolutions per minute? 

A. — The 8^ x 10 engine running 240 revolutions 
per minute will give 2^ % more power than an 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 117 

8x12 engine running 220 revolutions per minute, 
both having the same mean effective pressure. 

2. — The 7% x 12 engine running 220 revolutions 
per minute will develop 23^4 % more power than an 
engine 8x8 running 250 revolutions per minute, both 
having the same mean effective pressure. 

Q. — Will an engine 7x10 with a balanced valve 
give as much power as an engine with old style valves, 
iy 2 x 10 cylinder? 

A. — All conditions being equal, the larger engine 
will give over 12% more power than will the smaller 
engine. The difference in the power of the larger 
engine will more than make up for the difference in 
the working of the valves. 

Q. — Which will consume the most steam doing 20 
horse work, simple 9x10, or compound 7^x10 
and 11x10, and which engine would require the 
larger boiler? 

A. — Both engines being well designed and in good 
condition the compound engine will do 20 h. p. (nom- 
inal) with about 20 % less steam than the simple. 
Both engines will take about the same size boiler to 
supply steam to work to the full capacity of the 
engine. The compound engine being of about 25 % 
more capacity than the simple engine. 

Q. — Which of these two engines will give most 
power to a separator, same to be run at a certain 
speed by either engine? One engine is 8^4 x 10-inch 
stroke with 38-inch band wheel. The other engine 
is 8% x 1 1 -inch stroke with 42-inch band wheel. 

A. — If the two engines have the same conditions 



Il8 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

in the separator and the engines having the same 
mean effective pressure and at the same speed, the 
8% x 10 may be called 16 h. p., and the 8>4 x n 
would be 15 h. p.; but since the 8^4 x XI has the 
larger flywheel, which would reduce the speed of 
the engine, and this would make it 14 h. p. 

Q. — What horse power is an engine 7^4 x 10, 
220 revolutions, 120 lbs. pressure? 

2. — Is the boiler too small for the engine? It has 
32 two-inch by 66-inch flues; diameter of boiler, 26 
inches; grates 36x21 ; height above grates, 30 inches; 
has a water front. 

A. In the absence of the mean effective pressure 
we cannot figure the horse power, as the boiler pres- 
sure does not indicate this. We can, however, con- 
sider the nominal horse power of the engine based on 
general practice in this country, as there is no rigid 
rule for figuring the nominal horse power of a traction 
engine. Manufacturers differ on this point and we 
find that the rating of this engine, in the hands of 
different builders would vary from 11 to 13 h. p. 

Engines are not run under the same conditions. 
Speed, pressure, and cut-off, as well as size, have much 
to do with the power. Some manufacturers count on 
high speed, late cut-off, and high pressure, so that they 
can sometimes develop as much power with a small 
engine, as with a larger engine with moderate pres- 
sure, early cut-off and slower speed. It can be readily 
seen that nominal horse power does not indicate the 
exact amount of power to expect from an engine. 

2. — Boilers should be considered by the number of 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. I 19 

square feet of heating surface. In simple traction 
engine boilers built in this country we find from 10 to 
13 square feet of heating surface to the nominal 
horse power, so that the boiler described in your 
question would be from 11 to 13 nominal h. p. The 
pow T er of a boiler is also very indefinite, as it largely 
depends on the rate of combustion, or in other words, 
on how much heat is furnished. 

Q. — I have an engine called 16 h. p. with 8 x 10 
cylinder and 45-inch flywheel or belt wheel; another 
party has one called 12 h. p. with 8x8 cylinder and 
36-inch flywheel. Now how much difference is there 
in the two engines with same amount of boiler pressure 
and properly speeded to a seven-inch cylinder pulley 
to run cylinder 1,200 revolutions per minute? In my 
opinion the 8x8 will develop nearly or quite as much 
power as the 8x10 cylinder. 

A. — The 8x10 engine with flywheel 45 inches in 
diameter would run 186 2/3 revolutions per minute. 
The 8x8 engine with flywheel 36 inches in diameter 
would run 233 1/3 revolutions per minute. This 
speed on both engines will run the separator 1,200 
revolutions per minute with a seven-inch pulley on the 
cylinder shaft. With the proper boiler capacity in 
each case and with the same boiler pressure and mean 
effective pressure these two engines will develop the 
same horse power. 

Q. — Does a heavy flywheel give more pow r er to an 
engine than a light one, and how can one tell w T hen it 
is heavy enough? Agents from two different com- 
panies do not agree on this point. 



120 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

A. — The flywheel does not give any power to the 
engine. The heavier the flywheel the more power it 
takes to run the engine. You can imagine a flywheel 
so heavy that the engine could not turn anything 
more than its own flywheel. 

A flywheel should be heavy enough to carry the 
engine over the center well in starting, and in case of 
sudden loads it should have sufficient weight to main- 
tain a practically uniform speed. The theory of a 
heavy flywheel is that when it is in motion there is a 
certain amount of energy stored up in it that can be 
given out again. 

The harder the engine has to pull to start the fly- 
wheel and the longer it runs after the steam is shut off 
the more power it could give off in case of a sudden 
load. Very often a shock of very short duration 
comes on the engine, which is beyond the capacity of 
it and would stop it completely, were it not for the 
flywheel, and, if it is of sufficient weight so that the 
necessary power can be stored in it, the flywheel will 
carry the engine over so that there is no perceptible 
change in the speed. There is no fixed rule for the 
weight of a flywheel. It depends on the speed and 
the kind of work the engine is to do. The heavy 
threshing cylinders used nowadays help the engine 
flywheel in its work. 

Q. — How is boiler horse power determined? 

A. — The question of boiler horse power may be 
divided into two parts. First: "The term boiler 
horse power means capacity to evaporate 30 lbs. of 
water from 100 F., temperature of feed water, to 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 121 

steam of 70 lbs. gauge pressure, or 34.5 lbs. from 
and at 21 2° F.," centennial standard. 

Another way to compute the horse power of a boil- 
er is by the amount of heating surface it has. In gen- 
eral practice 12 square feet to the horse power is 
standard. This too may vary among the different 
builders of traction engines. Some give more and 
some less. 

The way to compute the heating surface of a 
traction firebox boiler is to measure the surface 
in inches in the firebox above the grates, sub- 
tract the area of all the tubes and fire door, 
multiply the circumference of all the tubes by 
their length in inches and in most cases the 
front tube sheet is also taken into account, which 
is the area of all the tube holes subtracted from the 
area of the tube sheet in inches, which when added to 
the tube and firebox surface and divided by 144 
equals the heating surface in square feet. 

A return flue boiler is computed in a similar man- 
ner: the circumference of all the tubes and fire flue 
multiplied by their length, added to the surface of the 
heads that is exposed to the heat, deducting the tube 
and flue holes, all in square inches, and then divided 
by 144 gives the heating surface in square feet, and 
this divided by 12 will give the rated horse power of 
the boiler. 

The regular working pressure is generally used in 
testing engines under the brake. 

Q. — Suppose a 16 h. p. engine running some ma- 
chine not requiring much power, hooked up as far as 



122 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

possible and still able to do the work on 60 lbs. of 
steam, or even less. Take a hay press, for instance. 
Now, will 60 lbs., 90 lbs., or say 130 or 140 lbs., 
as the case may be, be the most economical in fuel 
and water? This is overdrawn, but merely to illus- 
trate the point in question. 

A. — If the valve gear is hooked up as far as the 
mechanism will permit, and under these conditions 
run the machinery at 60 lbs. steam pressure, there is 
no advantage (from an economical standpoint) to 
carry a higher pressure, but rather a disadvantage, 
as there would be more heat carried in the boiler, 
than can be used, hence the loss will be greater. The 
reason for this is if 60 lbs. of steam pressure is suffi- 
cient to run the machinery with the foregoing con- 
ditions, the governor in maintaining the speed of the 
engine will necessarily reduce the pressure to 60 lbs., 
regardless of the pressure in the boiler. 

If, however, the valve gear can be hooked up 
farther than the point where 60 lbs. was used, a 
higher pressure would then be necessary and the 
economy would be better. If when carrying 140 lbs. 
pressure you can hook the valve gear up so that the 
engine just carries the load without reducing the 
speed, there will be a marked difference in the econ- 
omy of both fuel and water. 

Q. — I have an engine, simple, with a iox 11 cyl- 
inder and it runs 240 revolutions. The boiler pres- 
sure is 135 lb. to the square inch. It is supposed to 
be 25 h. p., but figuring according to my books I 
always get it more than again as much and cannot see 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 23 

how in the world they figure. Please explain to me 
how to figure the horse power of an engine. 

A. — The 25 h. p. is nominal h. p. and your rule 
likely gives you the actual horse power which is about 
twice as much as nominal horse power. The mean 
effective pressure on the piston which might be 50 
or 60 lb., in your case multiplied by the area of the 
piston, by the stroke in feet, by two, by the revolu- 
tions per minute, and this divided by 33,000 will give 
the indicated horse power. 

An indicator is necessary to arrive at the pressure 
and by the aid of a planimeter or by other means 
the mean effective pressure is obtained. 



CHAPTER V. 
BOILER FEEDING. 

Q. — When an injector does not work properly 
what is likely to be the trouble and w T hat can be done 
to correct it? 

A. — Here are a number of causes for improper 
working of an injector: 

i. — Leak in the suction pipe. 

2. — Water supply cut off by strainer on suction pipe 
getting clogged. 

3. — Loose lining inside of suction hose. 

4. — Leak around the stem of suction pipe valve (a 
common cause) . 

5. — Too low steam pressure for height to lift. 

6. — Too high steam pressure on long lifts. 

7. — Dirt in tubes, scale, iron cuttings, or red lead 
blown in or drawn in through steam or suction pipe. 

8. — A bad check valve; one not lifting enough or 
not at all. 

9. — Valve in suction pipe not properly regulated 
below the pressure at which it can be thrown wide 
open. 

10. — Loose disc on water supply valve. 

11. — Wet steam, foaming boiler, or new boilers 
full of oil or grease. 

12. Steam pipe connection made to pipe used for 

124 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 25 

other purposes and at the same time, thus robbing the 
injector. 

13. — Water supply too hot. 

14. — Overtaxing injector beyond its capacity. 

15. — Injector improperly connected. 

16. — The feed pipe where it enters the boiler may 
be limed up. 

17. — The injector may be limed up, or in case of 
gritty water the jet may be cut out to a larger opening. 

18. — There may be an obstruction in the steam 
pipe, or a scale or chip in the steam jet, but, more 
often than anything else, a defective suction pipe or 
hose will cause the injector to fail. 

Q. — I have an injector with three-fourths-inch con- 
nection. It will force water into the boiler very well 
with 70 to 80 lbs. of steam, but with from 100 to 120 
lbs. of steam it will not force the water into the boiler 
at all — runs out at the overflow. 

A. — There is only a limited range to the pressure 
at which an injector will work. If it works at a very 
low pressure it will not work at a very high pressure, 
and if it works at, say, 120 lbs. it will not work at the 
low pressure, say, 20 or 30 lbs. 

The jets may be cut out due to working sandy 
water. If this is the case, send to the manufacturer 
of the injector for new jets and state at what pres- 
sure you want it to work and they will send you the 
proper size jets. Before you do this see that every- 
thing is clean about the injector and that the delivery 
pipe to the boiler is free. The fact that the injector 



126 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

takes the water and delivers it at the overflow, would 
indicate that the suction pipe is tight. 

Q. — Which is the most economical, to feed boiler 
through heater with independent pump or injector? 

A. — The independent pump with a heater would 
be the most economical, as the water is pumped by a 
comparatively high duty engine and is heated by 
waste steam from the engine. It is true, when an 
injector is used the heat of the steam used goes back 
into the boiler whence it came; but in the case of 
heating it with exhaust steam, the heating is all gain. 

Q. — My engine seems to have plenty of power, but 
the steam goes down in a couple of hours after steady 
work. The boiler is supplied by two injectors, three- 
fourths-inch pipe connections, with no pony pump. 
Would it be of any advantage to reduce the pipe con- 
nections to one-half-inch? The safety valve is set to 
pop off at 95 lbs. 

Q. — I am running a 30 h. p. stationary engine 
with a 40 h. p. internally fired boiler, to pump water 
for irrigation purposes. My object is this. I would 
like to use the steam from the exhaust pipe to warm 
the water before I feed it to the boiler and, by doing 
so, save fuel. The water is good, coming from an 
artesian well. I pump it from a hole made in the 
ground outside of the buildings about six feet on the 
right of the engine. The exhaust pipe is on the left 
of the engine. I feed with an injector or a small 
double acting pump with brass valves. So I would 
like to get your advice on the following : 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 27 

Can I let the exhaust pipe discharge the steam in 
the water? 

A. — An injector will not handle very hot water, 
or water over ioo° F., especially if it has to lift it a 
few feet, and after the water gets very hot a pump 
will not lift it. The chances are you will have troub- 
le all around by heating the w r ater. Your best plan 
will be to get an exhaust feed water heater. The 
principle of such a heater is usually to force the cold 
water through the heater and after it comes out of 
the heater and ready to go into the boiler, it will 
be much hotter than it would be if it w T ere heated be- 
fore it were pumped. However, there are heaters 
that heat the w T ater by exhaust steam before it is 
pumped into the boiler, but this heater must always 
be higher than the pump so that the water can run 
into the pump, as the pump will not lift hot water 
very well. 

A. — It would not be any help to you to reduce the 
injector connections to one-half-inch. If the three- 
fourths-inch injector delivers the water too fast, you 
can reduce the capacity of it by partly closing the suc- 
tion valve. The injector can be throttled so that it can 
be working continuously. To reduce it to its minimum 
delivery, turn on the suction and steam valves full, 
and after it is at work shut off the suction valve until 
the injector "breaks," or runs at the overflow; then 
give it a little more w T ater at the suction valve so that 
it will again deliver the w T ater to the boiler. After 
the engine is running and you see that the w T ater is 
getting low in the boiler, open the suction valve a 



128 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

little more and after working with it a short time you 
will be able to set the injector at the start, so that it 
will keep up the water without starting and stopping 
it so often. 

Q. — What is the matter with my Moore pump? 
When I start it to take water into boiler it will make 
a few strokes and then stop. It will pump if not 
pumping into boiler. That is, if I let the water run 
on the ground ; but will start hard then, too. 

A. — If your pump takes the water and will pump 
it on the ground, this would indicate that there must 
be something wrong with the discharge pipe or the 
pipe between the pump and the boiler. There may 
be a closed valve or one out of order. Examine the 
check valve and see that all other valves are open. It 
sometimes happens that the feed pipe gets entirely 
limed up, just where it enters the boiler. This may be 
your trouble. 

Q. — Why does a pump only draw water a certain 
distance ? 

2. — What is the limit a pump will draw water? 

3. — Which works the easier, a large or small 
suction pipe? 

A. — No pump draws water; a pump can no more 
lift water than it can lift itself; it lifts nothing below 
its "barrel" at any time. The plunger or bucket of 
a pump displaces the air which is in the barrel of the 
pump, and exhausts that which is in what is called by 
custom the suction pipe. After the air is displaced 
from the pipe the pressure of the atmosphere pushes 
the water in to fill the vacuum. The pump has no 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 29 

other office to perform than to get the air out of the 
pipes. 

The size of the "suction" pipe has nothing to do 
with the action of the pump; it does not make the 
pump work one bit easier whether it is large or small. 
The size of the suction pipe has, however, an influence 
on the efficiency of the pump only, and so far as easy- 
working of the pump is concerned, it would act just 
as well if it were one-inch in diameter as if it were 
four inches. The suction pipe should not be over 24 
feet vertical from the water. 

Q. — How would you test an engine with cold wa- 
ter? 

2. — Will an injector work with anything attached 
to the steam pipe ? 

A. — If you have a crosshead pump on the engine 
you can fill the boiler to the top and then pump the 
pressure up by turning the flywheel by hand. A 
force pump of course is the best. It is customary to 
pump the water up to twice the working pressure. 

2. — An injector should never be connected to a 
pipe in which the steam is used for another purpose, 
neither should steam be taken out of an injector pipe 
for any other purpose, as the full pressure is required 
to make it work well. 

Q. — I have an A.-T. 12 h. p. engine and use the 
crosshead pump. Why is it that the higher I carry 
my water the less it seems to take, as I have to shut 
off my pump valve quite a bit more with four inches 
of water than I do with one inch? The engine under 
the same load at all times. 



130 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

A. — If the water in the boiler is too high so tnat 
it would cause priming or foaming it would take more 
water than if it were lower and did not prime or 
foam. If the boiler will furnish dry steam, with high 
and low water, the engine will use as much steam in 
one case as the other. Any certain quantity of water 
will make as much steam in either case. 

Q. — Can an engine be run too fast for a crosshead 
pump to work good? If a pump does not throw 
enough water how would you make it throw more? 

A. — If the pump had sufficient capacity when the 
engine was new there is simply something out of or- 
der. The valves may be leaking. A leak in one or 
both valves will affect the capacity. If the suction 
pipe or hose is out of order, this would also reduce 
the capacity, either by a leak or stoppage. If the 
pump never had enough capacity, the best way to get 
more is to put a larger plunger in the pump. This 
will necessitate reaming out the stuffing box. The 
speed of a traction engine cannot be too fast doing 
regular work. 

Q. — Can an injector be run or made to work 
against boiler pressure w r ith compressed air? 

2. — How is a railroad boiler filled with water out 
on the road ? 

A. — An injector will not work with compressed 
air. The source of power in an injector is due to the 
condensing of the steam which increases the velocity 
of the water and thus enables it to work against the 
pressure of the boiler which supplies the steam. Not 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 131 

being able to use air in this manner it would not work 
at all. 

2. — The modern locomotive boiler is fed by an in- 
jector. 

Q. — I would like to know something about the 
nature and care of injectors. Mine is showing very 
little wear, and I cleaned it perfectly bright, but it 
would not work, connections all tight. I soaked it 
two days in concentrated lye water, and it works all 
right. Some said to use muriatic acid. Will either 
one injure it? 

A. — The failure of an injector is most often caused 
by a defective suction hose. It not only leaks but the 
lining gets loose and closes the hole and prevents the 
flow of water. You may have the injector thor- 
oughly cleaned but it sometimes happens that the jets 
get cut out by sandy water. In this case the best 
thing to do is to send to the injector factory for a new 
jet. There are also valves that may become leaky 
which may cause trouble. 

Q. — What makes a crosshead pump pound and 
jerk the pipes as though it would jerk them in two? 
Sometimes hard to get started, also. Please advise 
me what to do for pump and what is wrong. 

A. — The fact that the water is forced into the 
boiler by impulses will naturally make a jar in the 
pipes. The faster the engine runs the more intense 
the jar. An obstruction in the suction pipes which 
will allow the pump barrel to become only partially 
filled with water will make the jar more intense, as 
the water is started by the plunger when at a higher 



132 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

rate of speed than at the beginning of the stroke. 
This may be your trouble. 

Q. — When one is pulling his load up a hill and is 
pulling the engine hard, and the steam goes to escap- 
ing from the pop valve is it an injury to the flues to 
drop the dampers tight so the steam will not escape ? 

A. — It does not harm the flues to check the draught 
by shutting draught door, but it may injure them by 
opening the fire door and letting cold air rush through 
the flues as is done in some cases. 

Q.- — How far will a jet draw water on a level at 
60 lbs. steam pressure? The size of the jet is three- 
fourths steam, one inch suction and one inch delivery. 

A. — There is hardly any limit to the distance that 
a jet will draw the water on a level. The jet will 
form a vacuum in the suction pipe and atmospheric 
pressure will drive the water through even if it were 
miles long. In this case the suction pipe would have 
to be without leaks. The length of the pipe will 
reduce the quantity of water delivered. In case of a 
very long suction, the pipe should be made larger 
than the jet calls for. 

Q. — Will an injector force water into a boiler that 
has a higher pressure than another boiler to which 
the steam pipe on that injector is attached? Now, 
for instance, say the steam pipe of the injector is at- 
tached to one boiler and the delivery pipe is attached 
to another boiler. And if the pressure in the boiler 
to which the steam pipe is attached is lower than the 
pressure in the boiler to which the delivery pipe is 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 33 

attached, will the injector force water into the boiler 
with high pressure? 

A. — The fact that the injector overcomes the fric- 
tion in the pipes and the turns in same (a heater, for 
instance) and lifts the check valves, will show that 
there is some power to spare. An injector will force 
water into another boiler with a higher pressure than 
the one from which it takes steam. The writer has 
noticed a difference of ten pounds on the delivery 
pipe from that of the steam pipe, and it is his impres- 
sion that injectors can be built to do even better than 
that. 



CHAPTER VI. 

LUBRICATION. 

Q. — Which is the best for a traction engine, a sin- 
gle or double connection lubricator; and how should 
they be connected, to the steam pipe or to the steam 
chest of the engine? 

A. — A single connection lubricator is the most con- 
venient to connect as there is but one connection to 
make ; but it is generally believed that it is not as sure 
in its work as is a double connection, as, there being 
but one connection, the pressure is the same on the 
tube which supplies the water as it is on the discharge 
tube for the oil, there being nothing to force 
the oil into the steam but gravity. The water being 
heavier than the oil and there being a little more head 
to the water than to the oil, the oil is forced into the 
steam in this way. One can readily see that a little 
obstacle in the way will cause the lubricator to fail to 
supply the oil. 

If a double connection lubricator is connected so 
that the connection for the water supply is taken from 
the steam pipe between the governor and the boiler, 
and the lubricator proper is connected to the pipe 
between the governor and the steam chest or directly 
to the steam chest, the lubricator will have an advan- 
tage, in that it has more pressure on the water supply 

134 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 135 

pipe than it has on the discharge end. Since the water 
supply pipe is a separate connection it can be built 
above the lubricator and thus get a greater head of 
water, and if the water or steam pipe of the lubricator 
should be connected to the same part of the steam 
pipe of the engine by having the water pipe built up 
considerably higher than the lubricator, the double 
connection lubricator will have the advantage over a 
single connection lubricator in that gravity can help 
more, due to the greater head of water, and thus 
overcome more of the troubles which are so common 
to the cylinder lubricator. 

Q. — If feeding too much cylinder oil, as well as 
not enough, has a tendency to cut rings and cylinder, 
will water passing through the cylinder destroy the 
oil and cut the cylinder and rings? How much oil 
is required in running 10 hours, cylinder 8^4 x 11? 

A. — Too much oil will never cut the piston rings. 
Dirty water caused by foaming of the boiler will cut 
the rings, but not clean water. One pint of oil should 
be abundant to run an 8^x 11 engine ten hours. 

Q. — Having had a great deal of trouble with my 
cylinder lubricator, I bought an oil pump, and I 
found a great deal of trouble to keep the pump work- 
ing. It is of the valveless type, but has a check valve 
on the pipe leading from the pump to the steam pipe 
of the engine. I noticed that the pump refused to 
start after it had been pumped dry, and if left stand 
without working, gets considerable water in the res- 
ervoir of the pump. The steam pipe is higher than 
the pump, but why does it get the water in the pump, 



136 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

and why don't it pump the water back and then start 
to pump the oil? 

A. — If the steam pipe of the engine is higher than 
the pump, it will not take long for the discharge 
pipe from the pump to condense steam enough to fill 
the pipe with water, and when the pump delivers oil 
through the delivery pipe to the steam pipe it does 
not need to displace the water with oil to get oil into 
the steam pipe, as the oil being lighter than the water, 
it will rise through the water in the same manner as 
does the oil in a sight feed lubricator. When the oil 
is all pumped out of the pump, it is not long before 
the water gets into the pump, especially if the valve 
leaks, and as some of these pumps refuse to pump 
water, the oil being lighter than the water, is forced 
out at the top of the body of the pump; in other 
words, the water fills up the body from the bottom. 
We see no reason why these pumps will not pump 
water as well as oil if the plunger is a good fit and 
the check valve is tight. 

Q. — I have a compound engine which has a double? 
oil pump, one part of which supplies the high pres- 
sure and the other part supplies the low pressure cyl- 
inders. Both plungers of the pump are driven with 
one shaft, there being two eccentrics on the shaft. 
Now, the trouble is, both pumps do not deliver the 
same amount of oil, yet they should have the same 
capacity, as the plungers are the same diameter and 
have the same stroke. The pump has no valves in it, 
but two valves on the delivery pipe leading to the 
high pressure cylinder and one in the pipe leading to 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 37 

the low pressure cylinder. The plunger which de- 
livers the oil to the high pressure cylinder gets the les- 
ser amount of oil, and, in fact, to get a sufficient quan- 
tity to lubricate it properly, I have to run the pump 
so fast that the low pressure cylinder is flooded with 
oil, and in consequence there is a waste of oil. I 
have changed the connections and valves of the pump 
so that the plunger which delivered oil to the low 
pressure cylinder was connected to the high pressure 
cylinder, thinking this would help, but the trouble 
was about the same — the low pressure cylinder got 
much more oil than the high pressure cylinder. 

Now, how can I get the pump to deliver the same 
amount of oil to each cylinder? If the pump is tight, 
should the difference in pressure of the cylinders make 
so much difference in the quantity of oil pumped? 
I would be grateful for any help you can give me 
in this matter. 

A. — The plunger of your pump must leak. Leaky 
check valves would also cause this trouble, but as you 
changed the delivery pipes and also the check valves, 
the trouble seems to be in the plungers. Tight fitting 
plungers in the pump may help you, as the oil is solid 
enough to not be influenced so much by the difference 
in the pressure of the twx> cylinders. A better plan 
would be to have a separate pump for each cylinder. 
Then you could run each one the required speed to 
deliver the quantity of oil desired. 

Q. — Will graphite stay mixed in lubricating oil so 
it can be used in a sight feed lubricator? 



138 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

2. — We have a Zero lubricator and when it gets 
a little cold the oil stays in the upper part of the sight 
feed glass. Is there any remedy for it so it will go 
away? 

A. — Graphite will not work successfully through 
the feed nozzle of a lubricator. 

2. — A cold wind may chill the water in the glass 
so that the oil will become so stiff as to stop the flow 
through the feed nozzle. If the lubricator is con- 
nected between the throttle and the cylinder the pis- 
ton will pump the oil through the feed nozzle when 
the throttle is shut off and the engine is still running 
due to the power stored in the flywheel. The proper 
place for a lubricator is between the throttle and the 
dome on the boiler. 

Q. — I wish to ask you what harm cylinder oil 
which the lubricator feeds while the engine is not run- 
ning will do? 

A. — Cylinder oil fed into the steam pipe or steam 
chest can do no harm to the engine. It is simply a 
waste of oil. 

Q. — Would you advise the use of graphite in the 
engine cylinder? If so, in what quantity? 

A. — Graphite is very good for cylinder lubrica- 
tion, as it mixes well with cylinder oil. One part of 
graphite to six parts of oil may w r ork through some 
lubricators. 

Q. — Why is it that the oil will run up beside the 
glass in lubricators at times; also how to operate a 
Detroit lubricator successfully? 

A, — The glass may fill with oil from different 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



139 



reasons. A very common one is because some dirt or 
sediment forms around the top of the nozzle at the 
bottom of the sight feed glass. This causes too large 
a drop to form and in raising it is liable to strike 
against the side of the glass and break. In such cases 
the glass should be removed and the nozzle made 
clean and smooth. An imperfect gasket will also 
cause the glass to fill with oil on account of the leak- 




Fig. 1. 

age of the water, or by clogging the opening at the 
top of the sight feed glass. In such cases the opening 
of the valve in the support arm of the Improved 
Standard, Ag } or the valve, Cg, in the Zero 
lubricator, Fig. 1, should be graded to suit the en- 
gine. With some engines this valve may be left 
wide open, while with others it must be closed almost 



140 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

entirely. In case of such troubles it is also well to 
empty the lubricator and blow steam through the dif- 
ferent valves so as to thoroughly clean out all the 
passages. 

Q. — Desiring to place my lubricator on rear of 
boiler and cylinder being on front end of boiler, would 
like to ask through The Review if the long feed pipe 
which will be necesary to convey oil to cylinder will 
have to be on an incline from oiler to cylinder, or 
can it be horizontal? Would it make any difference 
in the working of the lubricator? 

A. — The long feed pipe should be higher at the lu- 
bricator end so as to allow the steam to get into the 
lubricator and the oil to flow down out of the pipe. 
It should have enough drop toward cylinder end to 
make up for the amount the engine is out of level 
by being on an incline at times. 

Q. — How can one of the small cup lubricators be 
made to flow regularly ? I can fill this and turn it on 
full opening and find in the course of an hour that 
it has not gone out of the cup at all while engine is 
running, but as soon as shut off it will all run out. 
Can you explain to me a way in which my trouble 
can be overcome, if it can be? 

A. — The cup in question is a plain oil cup with 
nothing but a filling plug and a valve to shut off the 
pressure while filling, and same to leave oil flow down. 
There are cups of this kind made with a little equal- 
izing tube to allow the pressure to get on top of the 
oil. This makes the oil balanced and it can then run 
down. But without this tube the pressure holds the 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 141 

oil up in the cup and as soon as the steam is shut off 
the engine pumps a vacuum in the steam pipe or 
steam chest of the engine, and thus the oil is drawn 
out of the cup. 

Q. — If the cylinders happen to run short of oil 
(not enough to make them squeak) the eccentrics 
will pound very hard; they are not loose. I would 
like to know the cause of this. 

A. — The absence of oil under an unbalanced valve 
has a tendency to make it run hard. The valve will 
suffer for a want of oil long before the piston. The 
oil should be fed continuously. If it were not for 
the warning "pound" of the eccentric many a valve 
would be ruined for the lack of oil. 

Q. — My engine makes a squeaking noise; it is 
either in the cylinder or in the guides. I can't tell 
which. The front of the upper guide is a little rough. 
The engine has been run two seasons. The man in 
charge of it the first season said the sight lubricator 
wouldn't work. There was plenty of oil went through 
the cylinder, but depended on the oilers on the steam 
chest. He would fill it and in about fifteen minutes 
it would be gone, and the engine would then run about 
half an hour without oil. 

A. — The best way to lubricate a cylinder is to 
have the oil fed by drops continuously. If the engine 
continues to squeak after being oiled, this would indi- 
cate that the cylinder is out of line with the guides 
or that the crosshead is not properly adjusted; caus- 
ing the piston rod to be forced out of center. Some- 
times a squeak comes from the valve or valve rod. 



142 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

Q. — Is one lubricator sufficient for a double en- 
gine? 

A. — One lubricator is sufficient to oil a simple 
double engine, providing the supply steam pipe enters 
the branch pipe in the middle. If the main or supply 
pipe enters the branch pipe closer to one cylinder than 
the other, the cylinder that is nearest to main supply 
pipe will get more oil than the one farther away. 
The feeding capacity of one lubricator to oil two 
cylinders of the traction type is ample. 

Q. — I have noticed at times the oil in a lubricator 
will turn brown w T hen going up through the sight 
feed glass, which gives trouble, fogging the glass. 

A. — It may be your oil is not of a good quality. 
It often happens, when the sight glass is not full of 
water, that the oil adheres to the glass. This can be 
blown out without taking the oil out of the lubricator. 
The glass should have time to fill up full of water 
before the feed is started. 

Q. — What is the cause of the sight feed glass 
breaking on the Sw T ift lubricator? 

A, — The cause of the Swift lubricator glass 
breaking is being screwed up too tightly. A wrench 
should never be used to screw T it. You can get 
enough pressure on the gasket by using your fingers 
to screw it up. 

Q. — Which is the best for a wrist pin, hard or soft 
oil? 

A. — Hard oil is used very successfully for wrist 
pins. Automatic compression cups should be used. 

Q. — I am using a force feed lubricator and use 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 43 

one-half gallon of oil in ten hours. The oil enters 
the lead pipe just above the steam chest, and oil runs 
through the steam chest and cylinder, and then 
through the heater and on the ground. It seems to 
do no good and the cylinder will run dry anyway, 
and in hard pulling I have to use the hand pump to 
put in more oil. Now I would like to know what the 
trouble is with my cylinder. 

A. — Your oil is likely of a poor grade. Try some- 
thing better and see if you find relief. A less quanti- 
ty of a better grade of oil will do more good. 

Q. — I have an 18 h. p. compound Advance engine, 
and would like to know how would be the best way 
of connecting my lubricators so I could get them 
back at the foot-board to operate them; whether the 
pipes should slant up or down, and if I should use 
double or single connections; or, if single connec- 
tions, lubricator would work like a Swift. 

A. — To have a lubricator far from the cylinder 
where a long delivery pipe has to be used, it should 
incline or drain toward the cylinder so that water 
may not lie in it and thus freeze. As far as getting 
the oil to pass through the pipe, it would not make 
any difference, for if the pipe inclined upward to the 
cylinder and w T as full of water, the oil would find its 
way through the water. 

The lubricator should be of the double connection 
type, and the upper pipe which supplies the water 
should drain toward lubricator, with a valve next to 
the steam pipe, so that it can be emptied in case of 
freezing. The upper pipe should be connected be- 



144 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

tween the throttle and the boiler, so that the lubri- 
cator may be started to work before the steam is 
turned into the cylinder. A single connection lubri- 
cator will not work well with a long delivery pipe. 
A Swift will be all right. 



CHAPTER VII. 
FIRING. 

Q. — Which is the most economical way to fire a 
traction; to keep a thin fire over the whole surface 
of the grate, or fire first on one side and then the 
other? 

A. — The best and most economical way to fire is 
to have a thin fire over the entire grate surface. 

Q. — How would you bank the fire in an open bot- 
tom boiler? 

A. — If the ash pan is not tight enough to prevent 
the fire from burning too rapidly, the smoke box door 
may be left open. The most common way of bank- 
ing fire is to get the fire on a pile in one end of the fire- 
box, covering it well with coal and leaving part of 
the grate bare. Ashes are sometimes used to cover 
the fire. Every make of engine takes different treat- 
ment; a little experimenting will soon bring you to 
the right plan. 

Q. — I have a great deal of trouble with clinkers 
in the grates, no mattter how it is fired. 

2. — Would rocking grates do any better, and what 
would they cost? 

A. — Your trouble from clinkers may come from 
carrying too thick a fire. In starting, spread the fire 
over the grates, and it should never be more than 

145 



146 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

four inches thick; break the coal so that the largest 
pieces are not more than about three inches in size. 
Throw the coal over the fire in thin layers, never 
throw a shovel full at one place, but always spread it 
at the thinnest place, keeping the grates covered; 
never stir the fire from the top, for if you stir it while 
it is burning brightly it will at once make clinkers. If 
it is necessary to get the ashes off the grates it should 
be done by shaking the grates or poking them out 
from below. The very important point is to carry a 
thin, clean fire. 

2. — Rocking grates are very convenient and would 
no doubt help you to keep a clean fire. A set with 
all attachments would cost about 25.00. 

Q. — Knowing that the exhaust nozzle increases 
the back pressure and that back pressure reduces the 
power of an engine, how would it work to let the 
exhaust go free and produce an artificial draught by 
means of a fan or steam jet? Would the difference 
in the power make up for the energy taken to pro- 
duce the draught without the exhaust steam? 

A. — No. It takes very little back pressure to pro- 
duce enough draught to make a fire burn in a traction 
boiler. In some engines the most of the back pressure 
is caused by a poor distribution of the steam, and if 
the exhaust nozzle were taken off there would be lit- 
tle difference in the back pressure. We expect to find 
some back pressure in every engine, and since the ex- 
haust, even if it is let go free, without a nozzle, has 
a certain velocity and this we get without costing any- 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 147 

thing, and it takes very little reduction in the nozzle 
to increase velocity of the steam to make sufficient 
draught. To create the draught by means of a ]et, 
the whole amount would have to be done with live 
steam, and it would take more extra energy than to 
sharpen up the exhaust with a little back pressure. 
If, however, the exhaust could be used to get more 
power by means of a condenser as in stationary prac- 
tice, there would be more than enough energy gained 
to either run a fan or steam jet. 

Q. — Please explain to me how to fire a straw burn- 
ing firebox boiler, and why the flues get to leaking so 
easily when straw is used for fuel? 

A. — There is nothing which will worry a man so 
much as trying to fire a boiler with straw, when he 
does not understand the art, but a free steamer in the 
hands of an expert fireman is an easy job. One can 
make a great deal of extra work for himself by stir- 
ring the fire too much, thus making an extra amount 
of clinkers on the grates and stopping up the tubes 
at the tube sheet. A poor fireman who keeps lifting 
the fire and stirring it with the firing fork will have to 
clean off the tube sheet as often as six times an hour; 
while a good fireman will not clean the tube sheet any 
oftener than once in two or three hours. 

One of the important points (as in firing with 
wood or coal), is to keep the grates well covered, 
that is, not leave any dead space for cold air to rush 
into the firebox. If the firebox is wide, one can be 
sure that the grate is always covered by placing a 
fork full on one side, the next one on the other side 



148 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

and then one in the middle, and if this is kept up 
there is no danger of leaving any bare places on the 
grates. Too many firemen push all the straw to the 
center and poor results are sure to follow. 

We have warned you against stirring the fire; yet 
there is some stirring needed. After the grates are 
well covered with ashes or clinkers (which will be 
noticed by the feel of the fork while the straw is being 
pushed in, mainly on account of the straw not burn- 
ing so freely), the fork can be put under the fire 
with the points of the tines turned downward, and 
the ashes or clinkers can be pushed through the grates 
without disturbing the fire very much. This will 
allow the air to get to the fire again and make it burn 
freely, which will be noticed when the next straw is 
placed in the firebox. 

The draught door, or ash pan door is made large 
enough to pull the ashes out, which should be done 
from time to time, but the ash or draught door should 
not be kept w 7 ide open. An inch opening is generally 
sufficient to admit enough air for easy steaming, and 
whenever firing is stopped the draught door should 
be shut down. At first glance this may seem to be 
of little account, but straw for fuel makes a very un- 
even heat. While the average heat is sufficient to 
keep up the steam, yet at times the heat is much great- 
er than when burning wood or coal. Thus the flue 
sheet and flues are heated to a very high temperature 
at times, and if, while the engine is yet running, the 
exhaust is allowed to draw much cold air through the 
firebox and into the tubes, we can then see where the 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 49 

trouble comes from. There is nothing which will 
make the tubes leak so quickly as getting them real 
hot and then allowing cold air to strike them while 
in a heated condition. The beads of the tubes are 
exposed, and being so much thinner than the tube 
sheet, they will contract sooner than the tube sheet 
and thus become loosened. After this occurs a num- 
ber of times the tubes will become so loose that they 
will rattle in the tube sheet when the boiler cools 
down. 

An imperfect fire chute door will also cause this 
trouble. It sometimes happens that the door in the 
chute will stick, and while firing does no harm, espe- 
cially when the chute is kept full of straw, but when 
firing is stopped, the straw will burn out of the chute 
and the door refusing to drop, cold air will rush in 
and the tubes will be sure to be damaged. 

In burning straw the ash door should be kept 
closed as far as possible, only allowing it to open far 
enough to burn the straw. And it is surprising to 
see how little a space is sufficient to admit the required 
amout of air. 

Q. — Is there any advantage for a straw stoker for 
a traction engine other than a labor saver? 

A. — With a good straw stoker much of the trouble 
of leaky flues will be avoided; as in firing by hand, 
at times too hot a fire is made, and often the fire is 
allowed to die down suddenly. With the stoker a 
more steady fire can be had and there should not be 
any more tendency to leaky tubes than with coal for 
fuel. The accumulating of ashes on the tube sheet 



150 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

will also be reduced as there will not be so much stir- 
ring of the fire and thus reduce the tendency of the 
straw to fly through the fire. 

Q. — I have a cone screen in my stack and when I 
use it, it retards the draught so that the boiler steams 
very hard. Can there be anything done to help the 
steaming quality of the boiler when using the screen? 

A. — The draught can be increased by reducing the 
exhaust nozzle. Another way to help the draught 
while using the screen is to invert it. Instead of hav- 
ing it to extend downward in the stack, turn it up- 
ward. Thus the smoke will have an easier outlet 
and you will find the draught much stronger, and 
good results may be had in this way without reduc- 
ing the exhaust nozzle. 

If the frame on w r hich the screen is fastened will 
not permit of being reversed, the screen can be taken 
off and fastened on the top side of frame. 

Q. — I have a 13 h. p. engine. It does good work, 
but it fires awfully hard. It seems to have plenty of 
power, but we can't hold the fog. The draft is such 
as to fan the blaze down in the ash pan and back 
against the fire doors. 

A. — Your trouble seems a lack of steaming capac- 
ity. If you have power enough, carrying a higher 
pressure will not help you. On the other hand you 
may cause an accident with your boiler. Your best 
plan is to either get your engine to use less steam or 
make more steam for the engine. To have your en- 
gine to use less steam see that the valve and piston are 
in good order so as not to leak steam. If you find 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 151 

they are all right, you can increase the draught by 
reducing the opening in the exhaust nozzle, thereby 
burning more fuel and making more heat, thereby 
making more steam. Be sure that the exhaust nozzle 
points directly up the stack, if it does not the draught 
will not be so good. The steaming quality of an old 
boiler is not as good as a new one, on account of the 
scale which is so common to boilers and which inter- 
feres somewhat with the heating surface. For this 
reason it is sometimes necessary to make an adjust- 
ment of this kind. 

Q. — Could a handy man make a coal slack burn- 
er, using a fan to blow the dust into furnace and burn- 
ing it in suspension? Could straw be burned this 
way? 

A. — When coal dust is burned as fuel it is blown 
into the firebox by compressed air. A fan is not able 
to generate enough pressure for the purpose. If 
straw could be pulverized may be it could be used 
in the same way. 

Q. — Will using the steam blower on a boiler to 
make the fire burn, make the flues leak any quicker 
than the exhaust from the engine? 

A. — The flues will not be affected by the use of 
live steam instead of exhaust steam to create a 
draught, if they are both directed up the stack. 

Q. — Could you burn coal in a straw burner boiler? 
If not, why not? 

A. — Coal for fuel can be used in a straw burner 
by using coal grates, which are usually provided by 



152 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

the builder of the engine. In some cases there is a 
fire brick arch used for burning straw. This will 
assist in burning coal. However, the arch may be 
removed if desired. The exhaust nozzle may be en- 
larged for burning coal, as it does not require as 
strong a draught as for straw. 

Q. — I have a Russell 16 h. p. compound engine. 
Sometimes when the engine works hard for some 
time, using coal, a fire starts in the smoke box and it 
seems to take the draft of the main fire so that it is 
impossible to keep up steam. The fire will stay there 
and the smoke box will get red hot, as also will the 
smoke stack, and by and by the flames will burn out 
of the stack, if I do not stop. 

I was thinking it was the waste cylinder oil and the 
gas of the coal and dirt and soot that gets in the 
smoke box. I clean my flues twice a day, also the 
smoke box, but the fire would start any way. 

A. — Your trouble is no doubt caused by having 
your grates stopped up. It may be you have your 
fire too thick. The trouble is, after the grates get 
stopped up, the air cannot get through the fire to 
support the combustion and the gases go through the 
tubes of the boiler unburned; and after they get into 
the smoke box they ignite, thus making more heat in 
the smoke box than in the firebox and tubes. A fire 
should not be over five inches thick; with such a fire 
you will not have trouble of this kind. 

Q. — When an engine is employed for threshing 
and straw is used for fuel and fireman is employed, 
who should then have the blame for accidental fires 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 53 

— the fireman or the engineer? 

A. — The engineer should be responsible for the en- 
gine. He should see that the fireman is careful about 
his firing and not allow an accumulation of straw 
about his engine. He should see that care is taken 
when pulling out ashes. A supply of water should 
always be on hand. The engineer of a straw burner 
has very little to do and he should be on the lookout 
in case of fire from sparks and should assist the fire- 
man generally; as the fireman has the heavy end to 
hold in this case. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

GOVERNOR. 

Q. — The governor on my engine does not control 
it satisfactorily. I have to set speeder spring very 
tight to get proper speed for threshing. When sep- 
arator is empty it runs too fast. A new valve did not 
better it. It is a Pickering. Would it do to raise the 
valve a little, so as not to have the spring so tight? 

A. — If you raise the valve it may not shut the 
steam off when the engine is running light. The 
governor should cut off the steam when the balls are 
spread. To adjust the valve correctly you can take 
the governor belt off and without any belt on the fly- 
wheel, have some one turn on full steam while 
you pull the governor balls out by hand. You 
can readily tell where the valve is in relation to the 
seat by this method. If the engine runs at high speed 
when the balls are pulled out to the extreme, this 
would indicate that the valve is too high; if the en- 
gine is shut down before the balls are pulled out to 
the extreme, this would indicate that the valve is set 
too low. Adjust the stem so that the valve comes to 
the seat when balls are out. To tell when you have 
this adjustment, you will find that the engine stops 
just as the balls strike the outward position, or to 
make the engine run steadily, while running without 

154 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 155 

a load the valve should admit enough steam (when 
under full steam from the throttle and when the balls 
are pulled out) to run the engine very slowly. In 
other words, the valve should be slightly off the seat 
when the balls are pulled out to the extreme. After 
this is done and if you do not have the proper speed 
by giving the speed spring a reasonable amount of 
tension, the diameter of the pulleys should be changed. 
If you want to run the engine faster, the pulley on the 
governor should be increased in diameter. If you 
want to run slower the pulley on the crank shaft 
should be increased. As it is likely not to take much, 
one or two thicknesses of belting put around the pul- 
ley will likely be sufficient. The pulley may be 
wrapped with other things to increase the diameter. 

Q. — What is the matter with my governor? It 
is a Waters, 1 ]/ 2 inch. I cannot make it run the en- 
gine slow enough when doing light work, such as saw- 
ing wood. The stem seems to be long enough, as I 
can screw the valve down to bottom of seat. Should 
the valve have a solid bottom or an open one ? This 
valve is open at the bottom. It will let the engine 
run from three to four hundred revolutions per min- 
ute. It will hold the engine when doing heavy work, 
but does not govern it well. 

A. — The plan of changing the speed w T ith a Wa- 
ters governor is the changing the valve. When a 
slow speed is required the valve is screwed down into 
the seat, thereby cutting off the steam with but little 
movement of the balls and springs. The valve opens 
but little in this case and there is not much power in 



156 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

the engine. When the governor valve is set to run 
the engine faster the valve is set to open farther, thus 
having to move the balls and spring farther. To get 
better results at a low speed the better plan is to put 
a smaller pulley on the governor ; the valve can then 
be set to open farther. 

Q. — I have an engine with a Waters governor, and 
in sawing it controls the steam O. K. when I let the 
stem up. But when I shut the stem down the engine 
runs just as fast if not faster. Please tell me the 
trouble. 

A. — The valve of the governor may be worn very 
much ; perhaps it is broken ; and it may be when you 
screw the stem down you get it so far that it reopens 
at another point. Your best plan will be to take the 
valve out and examine it, and try it into the seat to see 
if it fits properly. 

Q. — What causes the governor to admit so much 
steam at times that the engine nearly runs away and 
then shuts down so it almost stops and starts off 
again? Packing is in good shape and I find nothing 
the matter with governor. This is on a link motion 
engine. 

A. — Sometimes the packing is all right, but the 
stem is worn so that it has shoulders. In this case 
the shoulders will wedge into the packing and thus 
make the stem stick and cause the governor to "race." 
It sometimes happens that the valve will stick in the 
seat. A loose seat or a bent stem will also cause this 
trouble. A tight or dry joint will also cause racing. 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 57 

It sometimes happens that an imperfect belt will cause 
trouble of this kind. 

Q. — I would like to know why the governor on a 
compound engine don't control engine as perfectly a3 
on a simple. I am using a Pickering governor. 

A. — A compound engine is not so quick to respond 
to a load as is a simple engine; as the steam is admit- 
ted to the high pressure or small cylinder and the low 
pressure or large cylinder does not receive the steam 
till after it gets through the high pressure cylinder, 
and the full power of the engine is only realized after 
both cylinders are at work. However, the economy 
of a compound engine should more than make up for 
this, and if the engine is large enough for the work, 
the variation in speed should be so slight that it will 
hardly be noticed. 

Q. — Where will the governor of an engine do its 
work best, next to the boiler or next to the engine ? 

A. — The action of the governor on the engine will 
be felt quicker when the governor is close to the cylin- 
der. If the governor is too far from the cylinder the 
regulation is apt to be sluggish. The proper place 
for the governor is close to the cylinder. 

Q. — Will a governor on an engine when put in a 
horizontal position run as regular as one that is up- 
right? When the balls go up they will go slower, 
and faster when they go down on other side, and will 
be closer to top of shaft than bottom. 

A. — This depends upon the construction of the 
governor. Most spring governors will run as well in 
a horizontal as a vertical position. 



158 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

Q. — I have an Eclipse governor and cannot get 
the speed I need. I understood there was quite a 
range of speed in this governor. The horizontal 
spring is not arranged for conveniently changing the 
tension. I have taken the top off and cannot see how 
it can be done there. I have been used to the Pick- 
ering and Waters governors, but I cannot see how 
this one can be changed as either of these are. I wish 
you would help me out, if you can. 

2. — The governor runs unsteady part of the time, 
that is, it runs above its speed and then shuts off the 
steam and slows down below its speed and keeps this 
up for quite a while. I have repacked the stem and 
don't think the trouble is there. Can you also help 
me out in this point? 

A. — The horizontal spring is for keeping the stem 
up in place and not for the purpose of changing the 
speed. You will notice the stem is made in two pieces 
and the two pieces are connected by small castings 
just above the stuffing box. There is a screw in one 
of the levers which works against the other lever, and 
by means of this screw the stem can be made longer 
or shorter. This changes the action on the large 
spring and varies the speed. The range of speed on 
this governor is about 200 revolutions per minute. 

2. — Take the valve out of the governor and see if 
it shows signs of sticking. If there are any spots on 
the wings of the valve they can be dressed off care- 
fully with a fine file and perhaps the disc of the valve 
may be a little tight and can be dressed off at the 
spots which indicate its being tight. 



CHAPTER IX. 
BEARINGS. 

Q. — Is babbitt instead of brass a good thing for a 
connecting rod? 

A. — Babbitt is a good thing for the crank pin, but 
not for the crosshead pin. The fact that it does not 
wear so well in the cross head end, may be due to the 
fact that nearly all cross head pins are smaller than 
crank pins. Babbitt does not heat as easily as brass 
and has equally as good and in many cases better 
wearing qualities. When it is neglected by lack of 
oil, or if adjusted too closely, it does not scar the pin 
as does brass. Men who have had experience with 
both babbitt and brass testify to the superior quali- 
ties of babbitt in the crank pin box of the connecting 
rod. 

Q. — What is the simplest and most economical 
way of rebabbitting main shaft on engine? 

A. — After taking out the shaft, the old babbitt 
metal is removed and all the anchor holes for fasten- 
ing the metal are cleaned out. The shaft is then 
replaced with sufficient blocking under it to allow the 
proper thickness of metal under it. It can be wedged 
up to its position by small iron wedges which can be 
taken out after pouring, or by a small block of bab- 
bitt metal which can be left in the box; or sometimes 

159 



l6o THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

the shaft can be held up by the crank disc and fly- 
wheel or gearing. The shaft should then be brought 
square with the cylinder and if the crosshead guides 
are of the bored type the only thing to watch beside 
getting it square with the cylinder is to get the pinion 
to gear properly into the spur gear. However, to 
allow a reasonable amount of metal under the shaft 
will not be far from right for the gearing. The shaft 
may be made square with the cylinder by means of a 
fine line or thread, stretched through the cylinder; 
and when the line is true with the cylinder it should 
come to the center of the crank pin. That is, if the 
crank pin box is three inches wide the line should be 
one and one-half inches from the crank. The fasten- 
ing for the line should be beyond the crank, so that 
the pin can be turned from one end to the other, com- 
ing just down to the line at each end. This can be 
done by having the shaft fixed so that it cannot roll 
out of its place, and the distance from the line to the 
crank should measure the same at each end. This 
will make it square with the cylinder. Clay or putty 
is used to prepare the box for pouring. The old 
metal can be used by adding new to it. Care should 
be taken so as not to get the metal too hot. It is bet- 
ter not to heat the metal to a red heat. After the 
metal is poured into the boxes the shaft is taken out 
to scrape the boxes. This is necessary on account of 
the shrinkage of the metal. A little lamp-black or 
red lead mixed with oil is good to rub on the shaft to 
mark the places where scraping is necessary, which is 
done by turning the shaft in the boxes. Filing it out 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. l6l 

with a half-round file will also do, but a scraper made 
by grinding the edge of a half-round file is the most 
convenient tool to use for this purpose. This scraping 
or filing will have to be repeated a number of times to 
get a good bearing. The caps may then be poured, 
placing the proper liners between the caps and boxes. 
The babbitt in the cap is fitted to the shaft in the same 
manner. Oil grooves are chipped in the box or cap, 
or in both in some cases. In the case of locomotive or 
flat guides the shaft should be level with the cross- 
head pin. In some cases it may be necessary to reset 
the guides to get the shaft level with the crosshead 
pin and at the same time have the gearing in the 
proper shape. 

Q. — How would you babbitt the crosshead shoes 
to raise them in line with the line through the cylin- 
der? 

A. — To babbitt the crosshead shoes, first see that 
the guides are in line with the cylinder, then block 
the crosshead up so that the piston rod is in line with 
the guides. This can be done by plac- 
ing the crosshead to the far end of 
the guides, then by measuring from the lower guide 
to the rod at both ends you can get it in line. Do 
not try to get the rod centered with the top and 
bottom guides, but simply in line with either the top 
or the bottom. The metal can be then run in, and 
after dressing it off proceed to test it by watching 
the running of the piston rod at the stuffing box. If 
the rod runs through the stuffing box without any 
vertical or cross motion, the guides are in their prop- 



1 62 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

er place. If the rod moves in an upward direction 
at the stuffing box as the crosshead approaches the 
stuffing box, this will indicate that the guides are too 
high; but if the rod moves in a downward direction 
while the crosshead approaches the box, this indi- 
cates that the guides are too low. The same rule will 
apply to any side motion which the rod might have. 
A close observer can readily determine which way 
to move the guides by the motion of the rod. 

Q. — When brass boxing have been badly cut by 
excessive heating of the crank, could it not be reme- 
died by boring them out and running them full with 
a thin layer of babbitt, so as to leave the pin as it 
was? 

A. — Lining of brass connecting rod and crank pin 
boxes with babbitt metal is a very good practice. You 
will find that babbitt will w r ear longer and run with 
less heating than a solid brass box. Babbitt does not 
work as well as brass in the crosshead end of the rod. 

Q. — My engine when pulling a reasonable load 
runs smooth and all right ; but when pulling a heavy 
load it pounds and knocks. What do you think is the 
matter ? 

A. — The knocking or pounding of engine when 
working under a heavy load may be due to the fact 
that there is considerable play or looseness in the 
main crank shaft bearing. This bearing should be 
kept adjusted as closely as possible without causing it 
to heat. The main box cap should rest firmly upon 
the liners or shims and the nuts screwed up firmly so 
there will be no play or movement of the cap. The 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 63 

wrist pin brasses should also be keyed up as closely as 
possible and great care should be taken to adjust 
these boxes gradually so that they will not heat. The 
crosshead pin brasses should be adjusted as close as 
possible. 

The best way to adjust this box is to remove the 
strap and wrist pin brasses and then adjust the boxes. 
Try to move the rod vertically. By doing this there 
will be no danger of getting it too tight. 

If the engine still knocks after these parts have 
been looked after it might be possible that the piston 
head is loose on the piston rod. To find out if this is 
the case it is necessary to remove same from the cyl- 
inder and by tapping the head with a hammer you 
will notice at the riveted end of the piston whether it 
shows any looseness. If the piston is loose in the 
head it ought to be sent to the factory for refitting. 
This, however, can be done in the field. 

We would recommend making a small wood fire 
placing the head with the rod up on the coals so that 
the head will become heated. It does not require 
very much heat for it to expand. The piston should 
then be driven in as firmly as possible and allowed to 
cool, and the riveted end should be riveted more 
firmly. 

It occasionally happens that the piston is loose in 
the crosshead. To fasten this tighten up on the 
clamping bolt, which will set the crosshead tightly 
upon the piston rod, and screw up the jam nut tightly 
against the crosshead. 

Q. — What do you think of wrapping thin paper 



164 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

around the shaft and pouring the whole box at once? 
That is, of a split box. 

A. — Wrapping paper around the shaft to com- 
pensate for the shrinkage of the babbitt metal is a 
good idea. Otherwise the metal has to be dressed 
out to insure free working of the shaft. 

Q. — Will you tell me how to babbitt the crank pin 
brasses ? 

A. — You can fasten the babbitt in a crank pin box 
by drilling the inside full of small holes about one- 
fourth of an inch in diameter; or another way is to 
heat box and tin the inside with a soldering copper. 
Put the box into its place, square the rod by the crank 
disc, have the key out as far as it will go to allow for 
as much babbitt as possible. Make tw T o strips of 
wood to put between the boxes to keep the babbitt 
from running together. The top strip should be 
short enough to allow for a gate to pour the metal; 
about the thickness of the outside flange of the box 
is enough to admit the metal so the upper stick can be 
that much shorter. The upper stick also serves to 
hold the box and rod up to its place. The top stick 
should be a little the thicker so as to leave a little 
more space on the top side of the pin to allow a free 
course for the metal to run. The box should be put 
in hot so that the solder can unite with the babbitt. 
This makes a very solid job. The babbitt will wear 
down to the brass without coming off. When holes 
are drilled in the box instead of tinning the surface, 
the box does not have to be heated. The babbitt 
should be scraped to fit the crank pin, due to the 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 65 

shrinkage of the metal. A babbitted box will wear 
longer on a crank pin than a solid brass one. 

Q. — How can I fix the crosshead on my engine? 
The upper shoe is worn and cannot be adjusted. The 
lower shoe can be adjusted by a screw. When I 
screw it up tight it throws the piston rod too hard on 
the gland of the stuffing box and makes the piston rod 
heat. The engine pounds worse when under the belt 
or turning under. Can it be remedied without taking 
off the crosshead? 

A. — The piston rod should be parallel with the 
guides of the engine. If the piston rod needs to come 
down to make it so, you should put a liner between 
the crosshead and top shoe. By taking back the 
lower shoe as far as possible, you can get the cross- 
head down enough to drive the upper shoe off far 
enough to put the liner in, as the top shoe is simply 
fit on a hub or stud. 

Q. — What makes the crosshead in an engine run 
out of true? Top shoe runs outside of slide and 
bottom runs inside of shoe. 

A. — We understand from your question that the top 
shoe of the crosshead extends out over the guide and 
the bottom shoe extends in. If this is the case there 
can no trouble come from this cause. The important 
thing to note is that the crosshead is the correct 
height. This can be found by watching the piston 
rod while the engine is running. If the stuffing box 
works up and down the crosshead is either too high or 
too low, and when the crosshead is properly adjusted, 
the rod will run true. 



1 66 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

Q. — How is the pressure on bearings figured? It 
is spoken of as so many pounds per square inch. 
How much of the circumference of journal is taken? 

A. — The pressure on a bearing is computed by 
multiplying the diameter by the length of the bear- 
ing. Thus a bearing two inches in diameter and four 
inches long has 2X4=8 square inches of bearing. 
The circular shape of one-half of the shaft is equiva- 
lent to the same thing as if the shaft were cut 
through its diameter, and the thrust would come 
against the flat side of the cut. 

Q. — Will you kindly explain in a comprehensive 
manner the correct method of lining up crossheads, 
or guides, which have crosshead pin cast in one piece, 
thus not permitting the use of a string through the 
crosshead and cylinder to line by? Such cross- 
heads are being used by the Nichols & Shepard and 
the Frick companies. Please also explain method 
used by engine builders for lining, and also please 
give diagram, if convenient. 

A. — The difference between lining up the cross- 
head on a bar guide and a Corliss guide engine is : 
on the former you line up the guide bars to the cross- 
head and on the latter you line up the crosshead to the 
guides. 

On a bar guide engine, if crosshead is worn, it 
should be filed so the bearing surface is straight on 
the bottom, top and sides and in line with the piston 
rod. 

If the guide bars are worn they should be planed 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



167 



off or the bars can be turned upside down. They 
should have a straight, level surface for the cross- 
head to run on. 

Cut out packing from thick paper, shipping tag is 
best, thus: 







A 









B 



Place enough of these under upper guide bars to 
hold the bars up off the crosshead. Then loosen the 
bolts so lower guide bars will be down below the 
crosshead. 

Adjust the piston so you can move it back and 
forth by hand. Take off connecting rod and rear 
cylinder head and remove stuffing box gland and 
packing. Move the piston and crosshead to one end 
of stroke and slip the gland in stuffing box. Draw up 
bolts on guide bars so the guide bars just touch the 
bottom of crosshead. Then move the crosshead to 
opposite end of guide, slip the gland in stuffing box 
and draw up this end of bars so they just touch the 
bottom of crosshead. 

If the guide bars are worn so the ends will not 
allow them to raise high enough, file down the ends 
of the bars. 

In using the packing, take enough of the packing, 



1 68 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

"A," so that when pinched together, it will be just 
thick enough to crowd one corner of the packing in 
between the lower guide bar, yoke and cylinder head 
lugs. Then loosen the bolts, put the packing in place 
and tighten the bolts again. Do this at all the four 
ends of lower guide bars. 

Take a spirit level or straight edge and place it 
across the top of the two lower guide bars and see 
that the full width of the bars are in line with each 
other and level with heater. If not level, place pack- 
ing, "B", under the outer or inner edge of bar to level 
it up. Rub chalk over the bottom of the guide bars, 
hold the gland in stuffing box and move the crosshead 
the full length of stroke and see that it rubs the chalk 
even at both ends of the guide bars, lengthwise and 
crosswise. If it does not, take out or put in packing 
until it does. Adjust the upper guide bars in the 
same manner. 

After the four guide bars are adjusted up and 
down to a true, even bearing and run free on cross- 
head, place the connecting rod in position and tighten 
its boxes, put gland in stuffing box and loosen the 
bolts to guide bars just a little, drive the guide bars 
in or out until they just touch the edge of the cross- 
head. Then tighten the bolts, chalk the inside edge 
of guide bars and have some one turn the flywheel 
slow and watch and see that the crosshead does not 
bind at either end of bars and has an even bearing on 
the bottom, top, and edges and runs free. 

A careful man can adjust the guide bars to cross- 
head in this manner better than with a center line. 



CHAPTER X. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Q. — When engine is being laid up for the winter is 
it best to take off cylinder head and steam chest 
cover and oil cylinder and valve seat, or can you oil 
them well enough by turning on lubricator heavily 
and running engine with cylinder cocks open for a 
few minutes? 

A. — A good plan to oil the cylinder and valve is 
to run the engine slowly and turn the lubricator on as 
fast as it will run; keep this up about the last five 
minutes you run the engine. 

Then drain the cylinder and steam chest thor- 
oughly, and there is no harm which will come to it. 
If, however, the engine must stand idle for a great 
length of time, the cylinder head and steam chest 
cover can be taken off and cylinder oil applied to the 
cylinder and valve face. Cover the exposed sur- 
face of the cylinder and valve face with oil, then turn 
the engine by hand until the oil is carried under the 
piston and valve so the whole surface of the cylinder 
and yalve seat may be covered. Then replace the 
cylinder head and steam chest cover, and it will keep 
from rust a long time. 

A. — In a front traction wheel where the spokes 
are bent and seem to be too long, how can they be 

169 



170 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

straightened or gotten taut so that they will work 
under tension. 

A. — Heat the spokes red hot. They can then be 
straightened and when they cool off they will be taut 
by the contraction of the metal. 

Q. — The flywheel has come loose a number of 
times and has worn itself so that the shaft is too small 
for the hole in the wheel. How should I repair it? 

A. — If you cannot hold the flywheel tight by driv- 
ing the key, you can cut another key way one-third of 
the distance around the shaft and drive a key at 
that place; then with the other key and the bearing 
against the shaft on the opposite side which the two 
keys will make, thus making three points of contact, 
the wheel can then be securely held. 

Q. — How would you treat a boiler after rig is put 
in shed? Is it good to pour oil in boiler before let- 
ting water out? If so, w T hat kind would you recom- 
mend? 

A. — The inside of a boiler takes care of itself, as 
there is usually a coating of lime on the surface which 
keeps it from rusting. An important thing to do is 
to see that all mud is cleaned out of the bottom, for 
in freezing weather the mud will expand and injure 
the boiler. 

Q. — Which is the best, hard or soft babbitt for the 
wrist box on the engine? 

A. — Genuine babbitt which is soft is believed to be 
the best all around babbitt. It being rich with tin 
and therefore soft. Copper hardened genuine bab- 
bitt will stand a greater pressure, but does not have 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 171 

the anti friction qualities. Metals rich with lead are 
good anti friction metals, but wear faster and do not 
stand as much pressure. It cannot be decided, which 
is best, whether hard or soft metals, as both kinds are 
sometimes bad and good. Your best plan is to get a 
good grade of babbitt, if you cannot get genuine bab- 
bitt metal. 

Q. — What do you think are the best pulling engines 
made, the ones with driving wheels set entirely be- 
hind the boiler, or in the middle of the firebox? I 
think the one best with the axle bolted in the middle 
of the firebox. I think you want the drivers where 
they can have weight enough to hold them to the 
ground, and not so they will fly around like the fly- 
wheel. Am I not right? 

A. — Sometimes an engine with the axle in the mid- 
dle of the firebox is the best puller and at other times 
the engine with the axle at the rear end of the boiler 
is the best puller. It all depends on the condition of 
the road, the length of the boiler, and where the 
engine and tanks are mounted on the boiler. A short 
boiler with the axle in the center of the firebox will 
usually raise up in front when pulling a very heavy 
load, and a long boiler with the axle at the rear end 
of the boiler will slip its drivers when pulling a very 
heavy load. This is the tendency of these two types 
of engines, but there are some of both classes which 
do very well, and it would be difficult to say which 
one is best. 

Q. — Please tell me what to use or how to make a 
good dope for screw joints of pipe? 



172 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

A. — A good lubricant or "dope" for the screwed 
joints of pipe, says Steam Engineering, is made by 
taking one part of white lead, one part black lead or 
powdered graphite and four or five parts of machine 
oil to mix it to a fluid consistency. To a pint of the 
mixture, add about one teaspoonful of flour emery 
and thoroughly mix. When using the "dope" on a 
joint, put a small quantity inside of the fitting and an 
equal amount on the thread to be screwed in. After 
the pipe is screwed nearly home, back it out for about 
one turn and then screw in snugly. The result is a 
perfectly tight joint, if proper care has been taken in 
cutting the thread and even without this care the 
mixture goes a long way towards making perfect 
work. The flour emery polishes the parts; especially 
when the pipe is turned backward, and tends to make 
practically a ground joint on the surface of the thread. 

Q. — What is the mean effective pressure to the 
boiler pressure? Say we have 100 lbs. boiler pres- 
sure, what would the mean effective pressure be ? 

A. — In an automatic cut-off engine the initial pres- 
sure would be near to the boiler pressure. By initial 
pressure we mean the pressure in the cylinder at the 
beginning of the stroke. At the initial pressure that 
100 lbs. boiler pressure would naturally make the 
mean effective pressure would be about 50 lbs. at a 
cut-off of one-fourth of the stroke and about 77 lbs. 
at one-half cut-off. 

In throttling engines such as traction engines with 
a boiler pressure of 100 lbs. the initial pressure would 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 73 

probably be an average of 85 lbs. which would give 
a mean effective pressure of about 44 lbs. at a cut-off 
of one-fourth of the stroke and 68 lbs. at one-half 
cut-off. 

Q. — How T are malleable castings made? 

A. — The castings are first made of ordinary cast 
iron, or charcoal iron in the usual way; they are then 
packed in cast iron boxes with oxide of iron and ex- 
posed to a full red heat for from three days to two 
weeks, according to their size. 

Q. — What is the melting temperature of tin, of 
lead and of antimony? 

2. — What is the proper metal or alloy for filling 
fusible safety plugs? 

A. — Tin melts at 442 to 446 , lead at 608 to 61 8° 
and antimony at 810 to 1,150°. 

2. — Tin is used for fusible plugs in boilers. 

Q. — What kind of acid and how do you mix it to 
make solder stick to tin ? 

2. — Is the same acid used to make babbitt stick to 
brass or cast iron? 

3. — Can babbitt be too hot to make a good box? 

A. — Soldering fluid. Take 2 oz. muriatic acid, 
add zinc till bubbles cease to rise, add one-half tea- 
spoonful of sal ammoniac and 2 oz. of water. 

2. — The foregoing will do well to tin brass or iron. 

3. — Babbitt is often ruined by overheating it. It 
should not be any hotter than to just scorch a pine 
stick. 

Q. — What is the value of wood for fuel as com- 



174 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

pared with coal, or how much wood does it take to 
equal a ton of coal? 

A. — One cord air dried hickory or hard maple 
weighs about 4,500 lbs. and is equal to about 2,000 
lbs. coal. 

One cord air dried white oak weighs about 3,850 
lbs. and is equal to about 1,715 lbs. coal. 

One cord air dried beech, red oak or black oak 
weighs about 3,250 lbs., and is equal to 1,450 lbs. 
lbs. coal. 

One cord air dried poplar (white wood), chestnut, 
or elm weighs about 2,350 lbs. and is equal to about 
1,050 lbs. coal. 

One cord air dried average pine weighs about 
2,000 lbs. and is equal to about 925 lbs. coal. 

From the foregoing it is safe to assume that 2^4 
lbs. of dry wood are equal to one lb. average quality 
of soft coal, and that the full value of the same 
weight of different woods is very nearly the same — 
that is, a pound of hickory is worth no more for fuel 
than a pound of pine, assuming both to be dry. It 
is important that the wood be dry as each 10 % of 
water or moisture in the wood will deduct about 12 %. 
from its value as fuel. 

Q. — Which is the heavier, steam or air? 

A. — Twenty-seven thousand two hundred and 
twenty-two cubic feet of steam weighs one pound; 
13,816 cubic feet of air weighs one pound, so you see 
the air is the heavier. 

Q. — If you have 100 lbs. of steam in boiler what 
pressure would it be at the steam chest ? 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 75 

The pressure in the steam chest depends on the 
load of the engine. When the engine is running light 
the pressure is reduced by the governor and the 
heavier the load the more reduction in speed and the 
farther the governor valve opens and the greater the 
pressure in the steam chest. On a real heavy load 
the steam chest pressure may be within a few pounds 
of boiler pressure, although the average pressure may 
not be much more than 50 per cent, of boiler pres- 
sure. 

Q. — Is there any objection to tapered waist boiler 
for traction engine? If not, why are they not all 
made that way? 

A. — There is no objection, neither is there any 
special advantage in a tapered waist boiler for a trac- 
tion engine. This would simply be a matter of de- 
sign. 

Q. — What is the best way to splice an endless 
Gandy drive belt about seven inches wide ? 

A. — Make the length of the splice four times the 
width of the belt. Divide the splice into as many 
equal parts as there are plies in the belt. Cut one ply 
or layer off the entire length of the splice, then cut off 
each layer one space less so that the end space will 
be but one layer or ply thick. Do this on each end 
and fit it together so that the thin part of the one end 
comes to thick part of the other end of the belt. 
Then sew the belt with a strong waxed thread, such 
as shoemakers would use to sew on a sole. Run the 
seams lengthwise of the belt about one inch apart. 



176 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

Q. — How can I remove the flywheel from an en- 
gine crank shaft that is stuck fast? It is fastened on 
with a key, but I cannot move either one. 

A. — Build a quick fire under the hub of the fly- 
wheel; a blow torch would be a good thing to use. 
Heat the hub as much as feasible without heating the 
shaft. In this way you will expand the hub and you 
can drive it off, or you can get the key out more easily. 

Q. — If I make my smoke stack say a foot longer, 
could I run with a larger exhaust nozzle ? 

A. — The draught in a short stack depends on the 
velocity of the exhaust steam and a foot more stack 
would not help matters unless the stack is too short. 
It should not be less than three feet long. 

Q. — How can the brass lining be taken out of the 
water cylinder of a Moore steam pump and a new one 
put in? 

A. — We would advise cutting a groove clear 
through the lining for the entire length of the cylin- 
der. It can then be sprung loose and taken out. The 
new one should then be put in place, and with a block 
on top of it, drive it in place with a hammer, taking 
care that it is perfectly true and not one sided. 

Q. — My heater is limed up and is useless. The 
pump is a Marsh and the exhaust steam is turned into 
the feed water after the pump is started. Would it 
injure the boiler any to feed the water in some other 
place and not use the heater? Please explain this 
fully. 

A. — It will be to your advantage to clean out your 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 77 

heater as it is more economical to force the water 
through an exhaust heater. The boiler will not be 
injured by not using a heater. The proper place to 
put the water into the boiler is on the side, near the 
front head. 

Q. — Which traction engine is more powerful on 
the road, the one having a high drive wheel the other 
a low one, both engines having a speed of 225 revo- 
lutions per minute; traveling the same speed on the 
road, this being obtained by different sizes of gear- 
ing? Both engines being of equal horse power. 

A. — Theoretically they will be the same. The 
engine having the larger drive wheels may have the 
advantage on a bad road, such as sand or soft ground, 
for more surface of the wheel will be in contact with 
the road and when the w T heel sinks into the soft 
ground, a greater number of cleats will be in contact 
which will give the engine a better footing; but on 
hard roads there will be very little difference in the 
efficiency and no difference in the power the cylinder 
exerts on the traction wheels. 

Q. — Is there any difference in water, i. e., in last- 
ing longer, also making steam? Which will make 
steam the quickest, soft or hard water, or is there any 
difference? 

2. — Why do they not use two safety valves on 
traction boilers? 

3. — Will the soot from the boiler make good paint 
for the same, mixed with linseed oil? 

A. — Hard and soft water will steam alike. 

2. — The law does not call for two safety valves on 



I78 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

a traction engine. Some cities require two safety 
valves for stationary boilers. 

3. — Lampblack, which is a soot from the smoke of 
resin, which is an inflammable solid of vegetable 
origin, makes the best black paint and is cheap. The 
soot from a boiler will be very coarse and will likely 
have few of the properties of lampblack. If it would 
make a paint it would likely be of a very inferior 
quality. We would advise you not to use much of the 
boiler soot for a trial. However, it will be inter- 
esting for you to try a little. 

Q. — We have a Crosby steam gauge on our en- 
gine. When we pulled in and cleaned out the pointer 
stood at o, but since then the pointer has traveled 
completely around the gauge, stopping within one- 
half an inch of the pin. Would it be all right to set 
the pointer on other side of pin or let it go at that? 

A. — Your gauge must have been full of water and 
has been frozen up. It is very likely bursted; which 
you will find out the next time you steam your boiler. 
The part which is strained is the spring which is made 
of a flat tube; and even if this spring does not leak, 
the mere setting back of the hand will not do, as 
there is a pinion on the hand shaft, which engages 
into a sector, and the position of the hand would in- 
dicate that the pinion is about to the end of the sec- 
tor. If the spring is strained by frost it should be put 
back to its original shape; this will bring the pinion 
to the right end of the sector. To get the gauge to 
register accurately again it should be tested and ad- 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 79 

justed, and if there is much out of place about it the 
best plan would be to send it to the gauge factory 
where they will make it as good as new for a very 
small sum of money. 

Q. — I use an ejector to transfer my water from the 
w T agon tank to the engine tank. The ejector heats 
the water so that the injector will not work the water. 
What can I do to prevent the water from getting so 
hot? 

A. — After the water is started by the ejector turn 
the steam off until it almost stops working. In other 
words, use as little steam as possible to do the work. 
These machines are made to lift water 15 or 20 feet 
and the steam pipe and steam jet is large. The ejec- 
tor should be designed with small steam pipe and 
possibly small steam jet when it is not required to lift 
the water. 

Q. — Have read a great deal about babbitting 
wrist boxings and crosshead boxings, and I want to 
know just how it is done. 

A. — Brass is better than babbitt for the crosshead 
end of the connecting rod and babbitt is better for 
the crank pin 

A brass box can be filed out to make room for the 
babbitt. There is no use in much room at top and 
bottom, but for an ordinary size engine there should 
be about three-sixteenths to one-fourth of an inch 
room at the ends for babbitt. Heat the boxes and 
with a soldering iron and acid cover the inside sur- 
face with solder or tin. Then put the box in place 



l8o THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

and while it is hot pour the babbitt into box, which 
will unite to the metal of the box. 

Too much cannot be said in favor of a filled box of 
this kind. It will not heat so quickly and will stand 
more neglect than a brass box. 

Q. — My flywheel has three spokes broken all to- 
gether. Is there any way to mend it, if so tell me 
how? 

A. — A piece of flat wrought iron may be riveted 
on one or both sides of the broken arms. If the arm 
is broken near the hub, so that rivets cannot be used, 
the iron can be bent at right angles to fit in the corner 
and cap bolts can be screwed into the hub. If it is 
broken near the rim, either bolts or rivets can be used. 
A good blacksmith will know the size of iron to use, 
which will depend on the size of the arm. 

Q. — If a quantity of water is converted into steam 
what is the weight of the steam as compared to the 
weight of the water? 

A. — Everyone who is accustomed to reading engi- 
neering papers or books is constantly meeting the 
expression "weight of steam," and many of them are 
puzzled to understand how the gas steam can have 
weight that would be felt on weighing scales just the 
same as a gallon of water. Yet there is nothing more 
certain than the fact that a gallon of w T ater converted 
into steam will weigh the same as it did before heat 
was applied to do the evaporating. If you put a 
gallon of water into a closed vessel and put a spirit 
lamp or other source of heat under it, and transmit 
sufficient heat to convert all the water into steam, it 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 8 1 

will weigh the same as the water did. But, if the 
steam was permitted to expand to the pressure of the 
atmosphere, it would occupy 1,664 times the space 
that it occupied as water. The fact that it now fills 
much greater space does not in the least change its 
weight. 

In the process of converting water into steam, the 
heat applied has no influence on the weight of water 
or steam. The mass remains the same weight it had 
in the beginning. This proves the fallacy of an 
ancient belief that heat was a material substance that 
passed from a cold to a warm body and added its own 
weight to the latter. — Locomotive Engineering. 

Q. — What is the best way to grind globe valves 
and stop cocks? 

A. — Use oil and emery or fine sharp sand screened 
through a piece of goods or bolting cloth. In the 
case of a globe valve, after the valve is taken apart, 
the valve disc should be fastened to the stem, if it is 
of the loose type, this can be done by taking the disc 
off and putting a piece of cardboard between the disc 
and stem. If it is a regrinding valve, the bonnet or 
part that has the stuffing box can be put back, which 
will guide the stem while grinding. The stem can 
be revolved by a brace or by hand, taking hold of the 
hand wheel. If it is not a regrinding valve, screw 
the bonnet up on the stem, and proceed to grind it by 
holding it as near central as possible. Always take 
the valve from the seat before attempting to screw 
the bonnet off on a valve that is not of the regrinding 
type, as you will be sure to ruin it if you do not 



1 82 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

observe this. A stop cock should be drawn out occa- 
sionally while it is being revolved so as to not cut 
grooves around the plug seat. 

Q. — Why is it best to use hot water in testing an 
engine with hydrostatic test? 

A. — Hot water is used in testing boilers, to expand 
the metal and to get the boiler as near to working 
conditions as possible. 

Q. — Why does a pop safety valve open wide, 
reduce the pressure in the boiler and then suddenly 
close down? 

2. — Why does the water in a glass gauge register 
higher after it is blown out than it did just before? 

A. — There is a flange or lip on the valve which is 
larger in diameter than the hole in the seat and when 
the steam raises the valve to let the steam escape the 
steam strikes this flange or lip and drives the valve 
still farther up against the spring until the pressure 
is reduced enough to allow the valve to start down 
to the seat and as soon as the flow of steam is reduced 
the spring snaps the valve to its seat. 

2. — This is more noticeable in winter when the 
temperature of the atmosphere is low. When the 
water is cold in the glass it registers lower than it is 
in the boiler on account of it being heavier; and when 
the water is blown out of the glass and hot water is 
allowed to come into it, the hot water being lighter 
will fill up higher in the glass. 

Q. — What makes our cylinder boxes heat, and 
what is the best oil to use on them ? 

A. — A cylinder box usually heats from getting 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 83 

out of line. Cylinder oil mixed with graphite is very 
good to smooth the bearing and get it to run cool. 

Q. — Is it a good idea to paint a Gandy belt with 
red lead and linseed oil? 

A. — -To keep a Gandy belt painted as you suggest 
would prolong the life of it. 

Q. — Please tell me how to re-babbitt the counter- 
shaft of a Gaar-Scott engine. The engine is of the 
external gear type. Also the best way to babbitt an 
Indiana blower fan shaft. 

A. — To re-babbitt a box, the old babbitt should all 
be taken out; care should be taken to get it out of 
the cavities which hold the babbitt in place. The 
shaft should then be put in its proper place, when 
there is gearing on the shaft, the teeth should be put 
in mesh and held there, this can be done by blocking 
up the shaft to hold it in place while the metal 
is poured in the box. The metal is then 
dressed so that the shaft fits loosely; this is 
necessary on account of the shrinkage of the babbitt 
metal. The cap is then put on the box, placing the 
liner, (made of cardboard or heavy paper) between 
the box and cap. The metal is then run into the cap, 
which is also dressed, due to the shrinkage of the 
metal. The oil holes may be drilled in after the box 
is poured. A pin of wood, which should touch the 
shaft, may be put in oil hole before pouring; this 
will leave a good oil hole after the pin is driven out 
and will save drilling. 

Q. — In a bevel pinion compensating gear, do both 



1 84 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

drive wheels pull on a straight pull and when going 
around a corner? If so, what are holes for lock pin 
in compensating gear for? 

A. — In a compensating gear the pull is the same 
on both wheels, although one may be turning faster 
than the other, as in going around a corner. See ar- 
ticle in appendix explaining this. 

In a mud or sand hole one wheel may have so 
much better hold than the other as to cause the latter 
to slip and spin helplessly under the compensating 
gear. Locking them together by means of the pin 
causes the power to be transmitted direct to both 
wheels, thus making use of the anchored driver. 

Q. — Will an eight gauge saw run much lighter 
cutting a % -inch kerf than 6 gauge saw with same 
kerf in hard w r ood? 

A. — There should be no difference if all conditions 
are good in both cases. However in the case of the 
6 gauge saw everything must line up better than with 
the 8 gauge saw as there is but little less than 1/16 
of an inch clearance with the 6 gauge saw and as 
much more than 16 inch clearance with the 8 gauge 
saw. 

Q. — Which is correct, to say steam is a vapor, or 
steam is a gas? 

2. — When speaking of cold what is meant by zero, 
and twenty below zero ? 

3. — When speaking of heat, what is meant by 
8o° F? 

4. — What is the line between heat and cold? 

5. — What is meant by Fahrenheit? 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 85 

6. — What is the degree of "commence to boil?" 

7. — What is freezing point? 

8. — What is the unit of heat? 

A.- — We speak of steam as a vapor when it is ex- 
hausted in the atmosphere where it can be seen, and as 
a gas when it is under pressure, especially w T hen it is 
superheated; by this we mean when saturated steam, 
or steam produced from a boiler in the regular way, 
is heated beyond the temperature indicated by its 
pressure. 

2. — On the instrument to measure temperature, 
called the thermometer, there is a scale with degrees 
marked along the side of a column of mercury or 
spirits. This mercury or spirits expands or contracts 
as the temperature changes. When the top of the 
mercury is at 32 ° the temperature is at the freezing 
point and when it is 32 ° below freezing point it is at 
zero or (o). When the temperature gets colder 
than zero it is called below zero. In this case the 
top of the mercury column goes below this point. 

3 & 5. — There are three kinds of thermometers: 
Fahrenheit, which is used in English speaking coun- 
tries, and takes its name from its inventor ; the Centi- 
grade, or French thermometer, which is used in coun- 
tries that use the metric system, and the Reaumur 
thermometer, which is used in Russia, Sweden, Tur- 
key, and Egypt. So 8o° F. means that a Fahrenheit 
thermometer is used. 

4. — There are two kinds of heat, viz. : sensible heat 
and latent heat. There is some heat in zero weather, 
but not so much as at the freezing or boiling points. 



1 86 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

The point where there is no heat is at absolute zero, 
which is 45 9. 4° below zero Fahrenheit. 

5. — Water boils at 212 F. at the sea level at at- 
mospheric pressure, or 14.696 lbs. per square inch. 

7. — Freezing point is 32 ° F. 

8. — A British unit of heat — B. T. U. — is the 
quantity of heat which is required to raise the temper- 
ature of one lb. of pure water, i° F., at or near 39 
F. 

Q. — The flywheel on my engine has a straight face 
and when it is windy weather it is very hard to keep 
the belt on the pulley. I would like to know if there 
is some way to make an oval face pulley out of it 
without sending it back to the factory ? Also, do you 
know how pulley covering is in wet weather? Does 
it get slippery, so a belt will not stick, or is it all 
right ? 

A. — If the flywheel has a straight face, a crown- 
ing face may be had by covering the wheel with 
leather. Drill holes in the rim and rivet a leather 
belt to the face. First put a narrow strip in the cen- 
ter of the wheel, skived down on each edge, so that 
when the covering is put on, it will make the proper 
crowi,. Another way to get the shape is to wrap 
tightly the face with cord until the desired crown 
is had; the covering with the leather belting together 
with the rivets will hold the winding of cord in place. 

There is nothing that will make a better driving 
contact for a belt than a leather covering. 

Q. — I have a jet pump of my own make, and no- 
tice that the temperature of the water delivered is 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 87 

much higher when steam pressure is low than 
when it is high, temperature of water at suction be- 
ing the same in both cases. Why is it? 

A. — You will notice that you have to turn the 
steam valve open farther when the pressure is low. 
When the pressure is higher, the steam has a greater 
velocity and less of it is required. Another reason is 
that there is more heat in a low pressure of steam in 
proportion to its pressure than in a high pressure. 
That is, the heat in the steam does not increase as 
rapidly as the pressure. 

Q. — Will a good one-inch rope have strength 
enough with a single block to pull a late improved 
separator up any grade of a bank barn? 

A. — A hemp rope of one inch in diameter is capa- 
ble of drawing three tons; and should be strong 
enough for the work mentioned. 

Q. — The flywheel on my engine runs out sidewise. 
I was told that I could get it true by refitting the 
flywheel key, but am unable to get the key out. Can 
the wheel be straightened any other way? 

A. — You can pene the arms to make it true. By 
this we mean to stretch the surface of one side of the 
arms which will bend them. While the engine is 
running, hold a piece of chalk against each side of the 
rim of the wheel, thus marking the projecting part 
of the rim. Now turn the mark on the side next to 
the boiler down, or at a convenient place so as to get 
a pry between the boiler and the flywheel at the mid- 
dle of the chalk mark. This will put the wheel on a 
strain in the direction in which it should 



1 88 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

go. Now strike the arms close to the hub, 
in line with the chalk mark, with a 
pene hammer, so as to stretch that side of the 
arms; then go to the other side and pene the other 
half of the arms in line with the chalk mark on that 
side. The stretching of the arms on both sides will 
tend to get the wheel true. Give it a moderate 
amount the first time and rub the chalk mark off and 
remark it, keeping close watch as to the effect it is 
having. The wheel is so easily bent in this way, that 
one is liable to give it too much the first time. If it 
is bent too much it can easily be sprung back with the 
pry or it can be bent back by peneing on the other 
side of the arms. 

Q. — Is it a good practice to run the main drive 
gear which runs the ground wheel on a traction en- 
gine in oil by placing a pan under it? 

A. — If there is simply a pan to hold the oil, mud 
and dust will drop into it and get mixed with the oil 
and will therefore wear or cut the gear very rap- 
idly. If, however, the whole gear is cased in, so 
that dirt cannot drop into the oil pan, it will be a very 
good thing for the gearing. 

Q. — How much hotter is the fire that is usually in 
the firebox of a boiler, than the water in the boiler? 

A. — The temperature of the fire or flame can be 
determined by its color. Faint red is 960 F. ; bright 
red, 1,300° ; cherry red, 1,600° ; dull orange, 2,000° 
bright orange, 2,100°; white heat, 2,400°, and bril- 
liant white heat, 2,700°. 

These high temperatures can only be had by fore- 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 89 

ing the fire with a strong blast. The lower tem- 
peratures apply to the fire in a boiler, and only 
to the live coals and flame. There are hot 
gases which cannot be seen and which are less than 
960 (the temperature of faint red) but do much 
in heating the boiler. The temperature of the water 
at 150 lbs. of steam, gauge pressure, is about 365 °. 

Q. — There has been much dispute around here 
among threshermen as to whether a machine runs eas- 
ier or harder when the engine is set higher or lower 
than the machine. -My theory is that there is no 
difference; but most of the threshermen around here 
vehemently declare that a machine runs much harder 
when the engine is set lower than the machine, both 
being leveled, of course. Would be pleased if you 
would answer in regard to this. 

A. — There will be very little difference either way. 
When the engine is set higher than the machine the 
thrust of the belt takes some weight off one end of the 
cylinder bearing and when set lower or level it puts 
additional pressure on the bearing. To make the 
case plainer, suppose the engine to be directly over 
the machine, this would be quite effective in relieving 
the friction of the box caused by the weight of the 
cylinder; and if the engine were directly under the 
machine, this would have the same effect as if it 
pulled in a horizontal position. So far as the ma- 
chine is affected, having the engine higher is a help, 
and having it lower makes little difference from a 
horizontal pull, except that the lower the engine is 
the more of the weight of the belt is carried on the 



190 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

cylinder shaft It will be easily seen that when the 
belt is horizontal, half the weight of the belt is car- 
ried by the machine, and when it is vertical 
the whole weight of the belt hangs on the machine. 
However, the case will average up for the engine 
and machine are always affected in an opposite way 
when one is higher or lower than the other. 

Q. — What is the best way to repack the steam 
chest cover? 

2. — Is there any law against running an engine 
without steam gauge or safety valve? 

3. — What is the best way to regrind a check 
valve ? 

4. — How can I regrind a globe valve that has a 
loose disk? 

A. — Any kind of packing will do for packing a 
steam chest cover. The thinner the better as this 
packing is not so apt to blow out. A sheet of any 
kind of heavy paper is a good substitute for regular 
packing in case of an emergency. 

2. — Some cities require two safety valves on a 
boiler. While there may be some places where there 
is no specific law on this point, yet there would be a 
law to punish any one w r ho would destroy life and 
property, caused by the explosion without these ap- 
pliances of safety. 

3. — Fine emery or sand and oil is good to cut the 
metal and a bit brace is a good thing to turn the 
valve. In some cases the valve has a slot in the top, 
so that it can be turned with a screw driver. In other 
cases the valve can be fastened in a piece of wood 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 191 

and the wood turned by the brace. If there is no 
room to turn a brace the stick or screw driver may be 
turned with the hand. This is a little more tiresome, 
as the power can not be applied as with a brace. 

4. — Take the disc off and put it on a stick of wood 
to grind it, or fasten it on the stem by placing a piece 
of hard board between the disc and the end of the 
stem and then turn the valve by the stem to grind it. 

Q. — At a recent assemblage of engineers in our vi- 
cinity the question arose as to the difference in pres- 
sure at different parts of the boiler; i. e., any square 
inch in the dome and any square inch in the bottom 
of the boiler when the steam gauge registers 100 lbs. 
pressure. 

A. — There will be more pressure in the bottom 
of the boiler due to the height of the water. At 100 
lbs. of steam (gauge pressure) the temperature of 
the water would be about 337.8 °. At this tempera- 
ture the water will weigh about 0.347 lbs. per square 
inch of one foot in height. For example, if the wa- 
ter is four feet high in the boiler, the weight of the 
water per square inch would be 4X0.347 or 1.3888 
lbs., which added to the 100 lbs. of steam would be 
about ioi^g lbs. pressure on the bottom of the boil- 
er when there is 100 lbs. above the water line. 

Q. — We have a Crosby steam gauge on our en- 
gine. When we pulled in and cleaned out the point- 
er stood at o, but since then the pointer has traveled 
completely around the gauge, stopping within one- 
half an inch of the pin. Would it be all right to set 
the pointer on other side of pin or let it go at that? 



192 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

A. — Your gauge must have been full of water 
and has been frozen up. It is very likely bursted; 
which you will find out the next time you steam your 
boiler. The part which is strained is the spring 
which is made of a flat tube; and even if this spring 
does not leak, the mere setting back of the hand will 
not do, as there is a pinion on the hand shaft, which 
engages into a sector, and the position of the hand 
would indicate that the pinion is about to the end of 
the sector. If the spring is strained by frost it should 
be put back to its original shape; this will bring the 
pinion to the right end of the sector. To get the 
gauge to register accurately again it should be tested 
and adjusted, and if there is much out of place about 
it the best plan would be to send it to the gauge fac- 
tory where they will make it as good as new for a 
very small sum of money. 

Q. — If water boils at different degrees of heat at 
different altitudes, why does it not have different de- 
grees of heat under different or varying pounds of 
steam in the boiler, and what is the temperature of 
the water at 100 lbs. steam pressure? 

A. — The water in the boiler has more heat in it 
as the steam pressure increases. The water boils in 
the boiler at atmospheric pressure and has 21 2° of 
heat. At 100 lbs. gauge pressure it has 337 , and 
at 200 lbs. gauge pressure, 387 , and so on. See 
table "Properties of Saturated Steam." 

Q. — I have Kunkel Pop valve on 16 h. p. boiler 
set to pop at 135 lbs. When the pressure gets to 120 
lbs. it begins to leak steam, and continues to until it 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 93 

reaches 135 lbs. Then it will pop, till the pressure is 
reduced 15 lbs. and close all right and at once begin 
to fizz again. I would like to carry 130 lbs. with- 
out any loss. How can I remedy this? Engine has 
been in use two years, valve worked that way from 
first start. 

A. — The valve may be of an inferior make. Some 
valves have a loose lip on the seat which can be ad- 
justed. To make it pop quicker and not blow down 
so much, the lip should be raised. If there is no 
such arrangement in your valve you likely cannot do 
anything for it. A new valve may be the only thing 
that will help you. 

Q. — How shall I set or change a pop valve with 
two hexagon nuts at top? 

2. — In a cylinder used six years is it better to buy 
new rings or have some made large at shop? The 
cylinder is cast to engine frame, which is fastened to 
boiler with cap screws and it is almost out of 
question to remove it here for reboring. 

3. — Will you give directions for operating a 
Moore steam pump and kind of packing to use? 

A. — You will find on the valve a bolt head and 
jamb nut. Loosen the nut and screw the bolt 
down for more pressure and then make tight the 
jamb nut. About one-sixth of a turn of the bolt 
will affect the valve five pounds. 

2. — The use of an engine six years should not 
wear the cylinder so large that it would necessitate 
having rings made larger than standard sizec In 
case of a cylinder which is larger than standard size, 



194 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

larger rings may be ordered by making a gauge and 
sending it to the factory. Cut a piece of one-fourth 
inch round iron to a length that will fit the cylinder, 
The ends should be rounded over and the piece 
should be bent so as to just fit the cylinder. This 
can be sent through the mail and will be more satis- 
factory than trying to give the exact size by the frac- 
tion of an inch. 

3. — In starting a steam pump turn the exhaust 
into the atmosphere and open the pet cock on the 
valve chamber of the pump, to exhaust the air in the 
pump and suction pipe. After the water flows from 
the pet cock, close same and then turn the exhaust 
steam into feed water by the valve provided for the 
purpose. The water piston packing is rubber rings 
especially prepared for the purpose and are fur- 
nished by the pump maker or party which furnished 
the engine. Any kind of ordinary packing will do 
for the stuffing boxes. 

Q. — Why is it that a traction engine whose axle 
is placed behind the boiler, will not pull a load back- 
wards on soft ground or deep sand? 

A. — Whether the axle is at the rear end or mid- 
dle of the firebox it will not pull as much backward 
as going forward. Yet there is some difference in 
engines. An engine that is easy to rear up in front 
while pulling a load going forward will not slip its 
drivers pulling backward. Neither rearing up in 
front and pulling forward, or slipping the drivers 
pulling backward is desirable. An engine should be 
balanced so that it will do both kinds of work well 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 95 

and there are engines built with the axle at the rear 
and some with the axle located on the side of the fire- 
box, that do both kinds of work well. 

Q. — Tell me which will give an engine the most 
power; to screw the governor down or up to climb 
a hill? 

A. — Since screwing the governor "down or 
up" does not change the relation between the cylinder 
and the traction wheels, there will be practically no 
difference in the load the engine is capable of pulling, 
that is, within a reasonable range of speed. How- 
ever, at the higher speed the engine will pull a small- 
er load than at the lower speed, for more of the pow- 
er is used up by extra friction due to the speed. 
The cylinders will develop more power at the higher 
speed and greater power is required to pull a load 
at high speed. So changing the governor so that the 
engine runs faster it w 7 ill develop more power, but 
will pull a smaller load. 

Q. — My steam gauge is located over the firebox. 
It has a brass syphon, It seems to get full of thin 
mud about like putty and then, it won't register right. 
I have cleaned it out several times. You would 
naturally think I use very dirty water, but I do not. 
I keep the boiler reasonably clean, but have to work 
it pretty hard; only about nine feet heating sur- 
face per horse power. Where is the best place to 
attach it? The engine is a 12 h. p. traction. 

A. — The sediment which looks like thin mud , is 
likely carbonate of lime which the heat extracts from 
the water. The gauge pipe must extend down 



196 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

through the boiler into the water. You could change 
the piping of the gauge so that it is directly connec- 
ted to the steam. If you could set the gauge from 
the dome of the boiler, it may be that would be a 
more satisfactory place for it. A good syphon is 
needed when the gauge is connected directly into the 
steam part of the boiler. 

Q. — Is there anything saved in hooking up a valve 
if the governors are in perfect order? 

A. — The governor, if in perfect condition, will 
not answer for hooking up the valve gear. The 
steam should be cut off early in the stroke and then 
work on the expansion of the steam the balance of 
the stroke. The earlier the cut-off the higher the 
pressure in the cylinder and the greater the expan- 
sion. The governor can not help in the economy 
but simply keep the speed regular. 

Q. — Why would it not be a good plan to have the 
front wheels of a traction engine driven as well as the 
rear wheels? Would it not pull better? 

A. — There would be some advantage on the pul- 
ling but the additional cost of the engine driven this 
way would not warrant it. In pulling a load the 
weight of the engine is thrown on the rear w T heels 
and the front wheels would do little good as a driver. 
However, in backing a load the weight would be 
thrown to the front wheels and here is where it 
would be of the most service. Since an engine is 
used so little for backing, it is not worth considering. 
Another point is that the engine would be made 
much heavier by this arrangement, as the gearing 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 1 97 

and axle would have to be made strong, for in case 
of backing a load the work might be as severe as on 
the rear wheels going forward. 

Q. — While engine is running slow T and pulling 
very hard doing traction work, it will run smooth 
and quiet. When it is running fast, threshing, it 
pounds terribly. Tightening the crank-pin and cross- 
head box does not help it any. If the crank-pin is 
worn out of round would that cause it? There is 
a good hand oil pump on steam chest, so have used 
enough oil to satisfy me that the trouble is not in the 
cylinder. Have been very careful in taking up the 
slack in all the other places. 

2. — Which is the best kind of steam gauge, single 
or double springs? 

A. — The crank-pin being out of round will cer- 
tainly have something to do with the trouble. It 
may be your crosshead is out of line or the crosshead 
loose in the guides. The engine will naturally run bet- 
ter when running on the road on account of the en- 
gine running over and when threshing the engine 
runs under, which will exaggerate any trouble in the 
guides or crosshead beside the harder pull while 
threshing. 

2. — The double spring steam gauge was designed 
for traction work to stand up under the excessive 
jarring it gets in this service. 

Q. — What kind of packing is there in the gland 
between the high and low pressure cylinders of a 
Woolff compound engine, and how often does it need 
renewing ? 



198 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

2. — How does an engineer change his valve for 
plowing to gain anything more than to have it set 
right? I hear some say they always set it different 
for plowing than for threshing. 

3. — Will the location of the exhaust nozzle have 
anything to do with foaming? 

4. — What is up or down location in the stack? 

A. — There is metallic packing between Woolff 
compound cylinders. We copy herewith instructions 
from the Huber Manufacturing Company's repair 
list. 

The metallic packing between high and low pres- 
sure cylinders should be examined once or twice a 
year. Take out the center head and examine parts 
well, before putting center head back to its place, 
scrape or clean out any accumulation that may be 
found. Be sure to tighten set screws alike, draw 
them up tight. 

2. — There is no difference in the setting of the 
valve in an engine. When it is right for plowing 
it is right for any other kind of work. 

3. — The location of the exhaust nozzle has noth- 
ing to do with the foaming of the boiler. 

4. — In some engines the exhaust nozzle extends 
up to the stack; in others it is below the bottom of 
the stack. 

Q. — How will I find the dead center on a simple 
engine ? 

A. — In the accompanying drawings A is the crank, 
B the crosshead and C a compass or pair of dividers. 
Turn the engine from the end of its travel about one- 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



199 



fourth of the stroke with the crank-pin above the cen- 
ter line of the engine as in Fig. 1. Make a center 




mark in engine frame at D ; place the compass in D 
and make a mark E on crosshead with compass fixed 
so it cannot move throughout the whole operation. 




Make a center mark at F at a fixed point on the frame 
or some convenient spot; place in F and 
make the mark G on crank with com- 



E 



ee: 




Fig. 3 



pass. Then turn the crank - pin below 

center line of engine as in Fig. 2, so that when com- 



200 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

pass is in center mark D the mark E will come to the 
other point of the compass. Place the compass in 
center mark F and make the mark H on the compass. 
Then find the point / which is midway between G 
and H which should be gotten with another compass, 
so as to not disturb compass C. Now turn the 
engine until the point / reaches the one point of the 
compass when the other point is in the center mark F. 
The engine is now on dead center. 

The other center is gotten in the same way using 
new points instead of D and E } but using the same 
point F and I y and the same setting of the compass. 
A good plan is to make a fixed compass out of heavy 
wire or light iron rod with sharp points bent as in 

m 

Fig. 4. 

Fig. 4. If the engine is of the center crank type, the 
marks G, H and / can be made on the flywheel which 
will answer the same purpose. 

A good plan is to rub chalk on the places where 
the marks are made by the compasses so they can be 
more readily seen. 



Appendix. 



When Safety Appliances are Unreliable 

The statement that the crown sheet of a boiler in 
service should not be allowed to get bare of water, 
even for the shortest time, will appear a truism to 
thoughtful and experienced threshermen. And yet, 
as a crown sheet failure described by a Review 
reader in our correspondence columns shows, there 
are men in charge of steam boilers who do not have 
a proper appreciation of this fact or of the danger 
incident to a disregard of it. It may be that in this 
particular instance, as in others, too much dependence 
was had upon safety appliances which should have 
worked and did not ; and this leads us to a considera- 
tion of such appliances and the conditions under 
which they may become inoperative. 

In the instance described, there seems to be no 
room for discussion regarding the cause of the fail- 
ure. It is a plain case of overheating the sheet; a 
condition of which the safety plug should 

201 



202 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

have given warning long before danger point 
was reached. That it did not may be due 
to several causes; it may have been melted 
out before and, instead of being replaced with a 
new one the opening may have been plugged up with 
something else as an expedient and then forgot- 
ten. Or scale may have accumulated over it thick 
enough to withstand steam pressure even with the 
filling melted out. To be effective as a danger sig- 
nal the safety plug must be in its proper place, and its 
water end must be kept clear of scale so that it can 
respond promptly when called upon. 

The safety plug, however, should not be depended 
upon as a normal safety device, and its warning could 
only come as the result of gross neglect on the part 
of the boiler tender. On every boiler there are or 
should be at least two sets of appliances for keeping 
watch of the water level : the glass water gauge and 
a set of gauge cocks. The lowest of the cocks and 
the lower end of the glass gauge are set above the 
level of the crown sheet, and under normal condi- 
tions they may be depended upon to indicate the 
exact water level. 

There are conditions, however, under which they, 
and particularly the glass gauge, may become inop- 
erative or misleading and these will be considered 
in the following. 

As will be remembered, the glass gauge consists 
of two fittings screwed into the boiler and connected 
by a glass tube into which the water and steam flow 
through the fittings, indicating the water level, the 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 203 

fittings being so placed that the water, at its proper 
level, shows about the middle of the glass. Both 
fittings are supplied with valves for closing the 
connection to the boiler in case of accident to the 
glass, and the lower one with a drip cock for empty- 
ing the glass when occasion requires. The steam pres- 
sure through the upper valve being the same as in the 
boiler, the water level in the glass is not influenced by 
it. 

Now let us suppose the boiler to be empty and the 
upper valve closed. Then, though the w T ater could 
run into the glass through the lower valve, the upper 
one being closed, the air confined in the glass would 
prevent the water from rising beyond a certain 
height and the glass would show no more, even 
though the boiler were filled to the top. If the condi- 
tion were reversed and the lower valve closed with 
the upper one open, then the water would reach the 
level of the upper valve opening before it would flow 
into the glass. 

Or suppose both valves have been open when fill- 
ing the boiler and that one of them has accidentally 
been closed while steam is being raised. If the upper 
valve, then because there is no chance for steam to 
get into the upper end of the valve, its pressure will 
force the water through the bottom opening until the 
glass is nearly filled; showing a much higher level in 
the glass than really exists in the boiler. 

Supposing our thresherman fires up in the morn- 
ing with the water showing at, say, half a glass, and 
with the lower valve closed. Then the water will 



204 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

remain at the same height in the glass — it may rise 
a little from condensation of the steam entering at 
the upper end — while all the time it is getting lower 
in the boiler. Unless the operator is careful and ob- 
serving this condition might result in serious damage 
to the boiler before it is discovered. 

Now let us assume the boiler to be under steam 
and that for some reason the steam passage to the 
water gauge is so small that the steam has not a free 
passage, but can just ooze through into the glass. 
This might be through insufficient opening of the 
valve or by the boiler passage being choked up with 
scale. Then, because it can flow in but very slowly, 
the pressure of the steam over the water in the glass 
is reduced ; and this will allow the water to rise high- 
er in the glass than its level in the boiler. A very 
slight difference in the steam pressures will make a 
considerable difference in the w r ater level in the 
gauge. 

There is another condition which, although not 
likely to occur in traction engine practice, is of inter- 
est in discussing water gauge troubles. Suppose that 
the boiler openings are clear and the valves open, 
but instead of attaching direct to the boiler the fit- 
tings are made by means of pipe connections placed 
some distance from it. With cold water in the boiler 
the level would be correctly shown. But with rising 
steam pressure the indication would be different. 
The pressure of steam depends upon its heat; so that 
if its temperature is lowered its pressure is also low- 
ered. Now in the fittings close to the boiler the 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 205 

steam temperature is practically the same; but as it 
flows through the pipe it gives up some of its heat 
with a corresponding reduction of pressure; resulting 
in the water being forced higher up in the glass than 
its level in the boiler; making the glass show T a high- 
er water level than is really contained in the boiler. 

The principle cause of trouble w T ith the glass water 
gauge on a traction engine is closure of the water 
or steam connections either by scale or dirt or by for- 
getfulness in the matter of the valves. It is a good 
practice to test water gauges at least once every day. 
This may be done by closing both upper and lower 
valves, opening the drip cock on the bottom fitting 
and then opening and closing each valve separately, 
allowing it to discharge through the drip. If the 
discharge from either is not free the defect should be 
remedied at the earliest opportunity. 

The engineer should train himself not to depend 
solely on the water glass. The gauge cocks with 
which the boiler is also fitted should be regularly 
used, and the water level should be such that no 
steam can be drawn from the lower one. There is 
nothing about them to get out of order, and they only 
require to be kept tight and free from scale or dirt. 
With these and the w r ater glass in good order the op- 
erator can always keep himself informed regarding 
the water level and can avoid the risks incident to un- 
covering of the heating surface of the boiler. Should 
this occur either by accident, as in the case related by 
our correspondent, or otherwise, then no time should 
be lost in closing dampers and covering the fire either 



206 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

with plenty of coal or with dirt, so as to avoid unduly 
heating the exposed surfaces, until the proper water 
level can be restored. Do not attempt to draw the 
fire. This will only result in stirring it up and mak- 
ing it burn more fiercely, thus increasing the danger 
it is sought to avoid; while promptly smothering it 
by covering it as already described, with all drafts 
closed will abate the intense heat that would other- 
wise weaken the furnace plates and cause a rupture. 
Under no circumstances should water be thrown into 
the firebox to put out the fire. The consequent sud- 
den and unequal contraction in a perhaps already 
overwrought sheet is likely to bring about the dis- 
aster it is sought to avoid. 



The Steam Engine Indicator. 

The man with a taste for machinery finds much 
interest and pleasure in watching a well made, well 
kept steam engine at work. The mechanism is so 
exact in its movements, so regular in its pulsations, 
so suggestive of power and yet so sensitive to control, 
so instinct with life as to seem a living, reasoning 
being instead of a mere mass of senseless metal shaped 
into a harness for the subjection of the mighty power 
of steam to man's uses. 

As he watches the engine in its steady, easy per- 
formance of its heavy task he comes to an apprecia- 
tion of the well nigh resistless force at work within 
the engine cylinder; unseeing and unseen, yet doing 
itc work with marvellous celerity and precision. Re- 
flecting on these things, it would be but 
natural that he indulge in some speculation 
with regard to just what is going on 
within those windowless iron walls; what is hap- 
pening there during each stroke of the piston and at 
every part of its stroke; whether the pressure is being 
applied heaviest just when it will do the most good; 
what happens when the valve shuts out the supply of 
steam; in short, exactly what is going on at every in- 
stant of time in the closely sealed engine cylinder. 

All these things might well suggest themselves 
to the person with a leaning toward mechanics, yet 

207 



208 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



only casually interested in the care and management 
of a steam engine. To the man actually in charge, 
however, they are matters of vital importance, for 
upon his accurate knowledge of them depends much 
of his success in controlling the mighty forces he has 
under his care. He can hazard no guesses, indulge 
in no uncertain speculations ; he must be able to know T 
to a certainty that everything is right, or to verify 
his belief that something is wrong, and to locate the 
cause. And to aid him in this a very effective in- 
strument has been devised: the steam engine indica- 
tor. Though an instrument of precision it is not a 
complicated affair. It depends for its operation 
upon some properties of steam, a knowledge of 
which will give us a clear understanding of the prin- 
ciple upon which it works. Before describing the 
instrument in detail we will therefore enter into some 




FIG. I. 

explanation of the properties of steam just referred 
to. 

Let us take, for example, an engine cylinder with, 
say, a 9-inch piston and 12-inch stroke; and for bet- 
ter illustration let us suppose it without valves or 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 209 

ports, as in Fig. 1, also ignoring the area occupied 
by the piston rod, and that the piston fits tight in 
the cylinder and snug up to the piston head. Now 
let us admit steam at 120 lbs. pressure through the 
pipe, S, allow it to push the piston ahead for three 
inches and then hold it there, as in Fig. 1. The 
space between piston and head is now filled with 
steam, and if we had a gauge screwed into the top 
of the cylinder and opening into this space it would 
register 120 lbs. Still ignoring the space occupied 
by the rod, the area of the piston is 63.62 inches, and 
the space now occupied by steam at 120 lbs. pressure 
is 63.62 X 3 = 190.86 cubic inches. 

Now let us shut off the steam at S and then allow 
the piston to move forward another three inches. 
The steam, at first confined in the three-inch space, 
now occupies 6 X 63.62 = 3881.72 cubic inches; 
and the pressure now indicated by the gauge, assum- 
ing that the temperature of the steam remains the 
same throughout this experiment, will be just half 
what it was before: 60 lbs. 

With the pipe at S still closed, let us move the pis- 
ton forward still another three inches. The steam 
now occupies three times its first volume and its pres- 
sure has lowered in exact ratio and is now but 
one-third its first figure: 40 lbs. If we now let the 
piston move the remaining three inches to the end of 
its stroke the steam w T ill have expanded to four 
times its original volume and its present pressure on 
the piston will be but one-fourth what it was at first, 
or 30 lbs. 



210 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



To make this still plainer, let us suppose that the 
bottom line of Fig. 2 represents the length of stroke 
of the piston, 12 inches, which is separated into 
three-inch divisions by the upright lines. The space 
between the first two is occupied by steam at 120 lbs., 



i&o ft. 






\ 

N 
\ 
\ 
\ 
\ 
\ 

to a. N s 


j \ 










joTfc.^ - « 





FIG. 2. 

as indicated. In the next space the pressure has 
dropped to one-half, and so on through all the spac- 
es; the last one showing the comparatively small ef- 
fective pressure of 30 lbs. And if we could have 
attached a small steam cylinder to our cylinder, hav- 
ing a weighted piston carrying a pencil at the end of 
its rod so that it would drop as the pressure was re- 
duced, and could have provided a piece of cardboard 
moving sideways past the pencil point as the piston 
dropped it would have made a line something simliar 
to the dotted curved line shown leading from the 
right upper corner of the first space down to the right 
top corner of the diagram. 

Now the foregoing is practically what takes place 
in the cylinder of a working steam engine; the steam 
entering at full pressure until the piston reaches the 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 211 

point where the valve shuts it off ; — in this case three 
inches — the steam then working "expansively" and 
with constantly lowering pressure until the end of 
the stroke is reached, when the exhaust port opens 
and allows the steam to escape into the air. In order 
to make the explanation as easily understood as pos- 
sible all reference to the differences arising from 
changes in temperature, and the various other things 
that might make an appreciable difference in our 
figures have been omitted. But the pressure at time 
of exhaust is very considerable, and since it does no 
further work in the cylinder, but is turned into the 
open air, a loss ensues varying with the condition and 
pattern of the engine, but considerable in any event. 
It is not practicable to allow the piston to travel still 
further and so utilize the pressure on it until none is 
left. This loss is best reduced to its lowest terms by 
using steam at high boiler pressure, so that the ter- 
minal pressure will be high enough to utilize in an- 
other cylinder and there be expanded to the lowest 
practical point; the compound engine. 

With this understanding of some of the properties 
of steam we can proceed to a description of the indi- 
cator, its application and uses. 

As will be seen at Fig. 3, the indicator consists 
of a small steam cylinder, A, provided with a piston 
which is weighted with a spring of known "weight," 
much as a safety valve is, the piston rod projecting 
through the top of the cylinder where it is attached 
at B to a lever which is moved up as pressure is put 
upon the piston, the spring, not shown in the cut, 



212 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



bringing it down again as pressure is reduced. At 
the other end of the lever, at C, is a pencil point 
which presses against the revolving drum, D, just 
hard enough to make a mark on a piece of paper 
wrapped around the drum and held in place by the 




fig. 3. 

spring clips F. Around a pulley which is formed in 
the bottom edge of the drum, D, is wrapped a piece 
of stout unstretchable cord, E } the other end of which 
is connected with some reciprocating part of the en- 
gine, usually the crosshead, so that with one stroke 
of the piston the cord is tightened and the drum 
caused to make one full revolution; and upon the 
return stroke a spring inside the drum returns it with 
one revolution to its original position, rewinding the 
cord on its pulley ready for the next stroke. So that 
with every stroke of the engine piston the indicator 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 213 

drum makes one complete revolution, which is timed 
exactly with the movement of the engine piston. 

Most traction engine ow T ners have no doubt no- 
ticed a plugged hole in each end of the cylinder, open- 
ing into the clearance space; and many have no doubt 
wondered what they were put there for. They are 
the holes that were used by the factory experts w T hen 
testing the engine, and they are where the pipes lead- 
ing to the indicator w T ere connected to the cylinder. 
These are made as short as possible and are usually 
led toward each other to a three-way cock, so that 
communication can be had with either end of the cyl- 
inder at will. The indicator is screwed into the three- 
way cock, the connection being made at A } and with 
the cord properly connected with the crosshead and 
a strip of paper wound on the drum and fastened 
securely to place, the instrument is ready to work. 
There are some important precautions to be taken in 
doing all this, but since the detailing of them would 
occupy more space than can be given them in this ar- 
ticle, which is intended merely to outline the nature 
and use of the indicator, we are omitting them here. 

Now with the drum rotating with each stroke of 
the engine, and no steam going to the indicator cyl- 
inder, the pencil point will trace a straight line on the 
strip of paper wound on the drum. But with steam 
entering through A the indicator piston is forced up 
a distance corresponding to the pressure in the engine 
and indicator cylinders, and the pencil records a per- 
pendicular mark on the paper strip. As the indicator 
drum is timed exactly with the engine piston, it fol- 



214 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

lows that when steam is admitted to the front of the 
engine piston at the beginning of the stroke the pres- 
sure there will be all at once felt at the indicator 
piston and will force it up, and the pencil point will 
score a line like the first line at the left in Fig. 2. 
When the indicator piston has reached its highest lim- 
it it will be held there until the point of cut-off is 
reached; corresponding w T ith the first three-inch mark 
in Fig. 2, and the revolving drum will cause the 
pencil point to trace a straight mark at the top of the 
card; corresponding with the line marked 120 lbs. 
in Fig. 2. When the engine valve cuts off the steam, 
the effect is the same as when we shut off the steam at 
S, Fig. 1. 

All the steam that is to be admitted for that stroke 
of the piston is now in the cylinder, and as the pis- 
ton moves on toward the end of its stroke the steam 
occupies a constantly enlarged space with a constantly 
lowering pressure at the end of the stroke; and as 
the pressure lowers in the engine cylinder the indi- 
cator cylinder follows it, and the revolving drum con- 
tinues its mark, not in a straight line, as before, but in 
a downward curve resembling the dotted curved 
line in Fig. 2. When the end of the stroke is reached 
and the pressure falls suddenly because of the ex- 
haust, the indicator piston also falls and the pencil 
with it, tracing a line corresponding with the short 
30-lb. line at the right of Fig. 2. The indicator lines 
will not be exactly like those in Fig. 2, because 
that is a conventional drawing; but they will follow 
the exact steam pressure at every point from begin- 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 215 

ning to end of the stroke of the engine piston; also 
recording the other pressures due to back pressure, 
compression, and in the case of a condensing engine, 
to vacuum. 

That is, it will record these things if the engine is 
working just as it should. And the diagrams taken 
from such an engine will be pretty uniform and will 
correspond closely with what is known to be a theo- 
retically correct diagram. If the engine is not work- 
ing correctly, however, the diagram will show devia- 
tions from the normal that will indicate the trouble 
if due to irregularities in steam admission, expansion 
or exhaust; such as wrongly set valves, leaky piston 
or stoppage in exhaust pipe or nozzle. These and 
other things affect the diagram, and it's tracing will 
show to the experienced indicator user where the 
trouble lies. 

As a matter of course there are many items of de- 
tail in connection with the use of the indicator that 
are not considered in the foregoing; this article being 
intended as an explanation to the unaquainted thresh- 
ermen of the nature and use of the steam engine indi- 
cator and to aid him in understanding the use there- 
of. 



Keys and Set Screws of Farm Machinery. 

Some Noon Hour Talks on the Subject of 
Mechanics. 

Keys and set screws in modern machine and tool 
fittings of farming implements, form one of the essen- 
tial problems of mechanics. The writer has been 
interested in following the trend of some noon-hour 
talks across the dinner pail, of men who are well up in 
the matter of farming mechanisms of modern times. 
These mechanical problems differ greatly from those 
that confronted the designer of farming machinery 
and implements of a dozen or fifteen years ago. To- 
day we find a greatly increased proportion of labor 
saving devices, with necessary automatic attachments 
to perfom the work. The increased speed, the nicety 
of adjustment, the generally improved appearance so 
as to effect a sale quicker, are all noticeable in the 
modern machine. But it is chiefly the problem of set- 
ting parts by means of set screws that we will discuss 
in this article. There is, for example, the ordi- 
nary square key, shown in Fig. i. This form of key 
has been used in the securing of gear hubs, flanges, 
couplings, and the like in farming devices for a very 
long while. The flat key is also used, but does not 
have the substantial grip of the square key. The flat 
key is often driven into the key seat of the hub and 

216 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



217 



left to frictional contact to get a bite on the shaft. 
The result is constant slipping. The position of the 
square key is shown in Fig. 5 at a. That of the flat 




fig. 5-6. 



key, when sunken partly into both collar and shaft, 
is as in Fig. 6 at b. In Fig. 7 is 
shown the faulty round or half moon key 
that one runs across occasionally and al- 




most immediately proceeds to cast it out and sub- 
stitute a proper one. The half round key is shown 
in Fig. 3. In Fig. 7 is presented the method of in- 
sertion for gear, wheel or coupling. C points out 



218 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



the position. It can be readily seen that the key de- 
pends almost entirely upon the gripping power of 
the rounded surfaces, and unless the parts are well 
fitted the trouble of slipping will occur at once. Fig. 
4 is the diamond formed key which is found now and 
then. The manner of setting this key in place is 
shown in Fig. 8 at d. The trouble lies in the fact 
that the sides of the key wear quickly and soon a 
wabbly union results and the key slips out. Some- 
times the twin-key is found in use in connections in 
farm machinery and the repair man, in overhauling 
the parts is surprised when in driving out such keys, 



9 




FIG. 9-IO-I I. 

they divide. The twin-style of key is exhibited in 
Fig. 9. Usualh the tapered sides are driven in from 
each end. The tapered square key is presented in 
Fig. 10 and is common in all machines, while the 
headed key. Fig. 11, is perhaps the most practical. 
It is seen in use frequently. The form is of the 
square pattern, somewhat flattened, and very slightly 
tapered, so as to increase the bite with each drive of 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



2I 9 



the hammer as the key is sent home in the key seat. 
The head affords a means by which the key can be 
withdrawn. 

Referring next to the set screw problem, we find 
that set screws are more or less abused in ever} 7 de- 
partment, pretty much as the keys are. However, 
some of the forms of screw are incorrectly designed 
at the beginning. Fig. 12 is a style of set screw I 




ran into in one place. It is made on the tapered plan 
and the threaded boring to receive it was similarly 
cut. Of course, the set screw could be turned in only 
just so far. The cap is held and the threaded bore in 
the base of the cap seat on the journal had to 
correspond perfectly to make the key a success. Still 
one sees samples of wrongfully treated set screws, a 
specimen of which is shown in Fig. 13 . Here is 
where through carelessness, the point of the set screw 
is bent over as at E. This is done in several ways. 
By permitting the set screw to remain too far out of 
its position, so that something contacts with the head 



220 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



and bends the screw over. Or through carelessness 
in turning the screw with a heavy wrench. Pointed 
set screws as in Fig. 14 are not used in farming 
implements very often because the fatal point soon 
gouges out a groove or hole and the shaft is spoiled 
at that part. Simply a rounded point is desired. Set 
screws in collars with tightening nut are used freely. 




FIG. 15-16. 

Fig. 15 is a sample of the same. The shoulder, g 3 
instead of being a part of the collar, h, is a separate 
threaded nut like affair which is screwed on with the 
set screw and aids to hold it in position. 

Collars designed on the plan presented in Fig, 16 
are very liable to cause trouble by splitting when any 
undue strain is exerted at h by the pressure of the set 
screw. The only remedy is to substitute a new collar 
with shoulder at the set screw bore, or a heavier col- 
lar throughout. Concerning threads, one reason 
why set screws and nuts work loose is that the ten- 
dency is such in all threaded parts as exhibited in 
Fig. 17. The threaded parts, if allowed to rest one 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



221 



upon the other as at i } without being secured, would 
work toward the end of the set screw or other thread- 
ed shaft in the direction of the arrow, caused by the 
jarring. To overcome this, the threaded part usual- 
ly binds against something. This causes every 




AA/WV 

FIG. 17. 

thread to press against its neighbor and a series of 
frictional bindings result and the parts hold fast. 
Among other forms of threads noticed by the writer 
in use in farming machinery and implements are the 
rather curious types shown in Figs. 18 and 19. Fig. 



lk---\ 


m 




TC 


29" ~ 

FIG. 18-19 





18 is a shaft on which there is a coil of raised threads, 
rounding in form, and arranged to fit into similarly 
grooved places in the seat into which the screw is to 
be turned. The thread of the screw in Fig 19 is not 
unusual and is employed where excessive strength is 
needed in the grip of the thread system of the set 



screw. 



The Compensating Gear. 

"There is no part of a traction engine gearing so 
essential, and yet so little understood," remarked the 
head of one of the oldest and best known of the 
thresher manufacturing concerns not long ago, "as 
the differential or compensating gear; and I very 
much doubt whether even all of our shop men en- 
gaged in assembling these gears have any very clear 
idea of the principles upon which they operate." An- 
other prominent manufacturer says: "The compensa- 
ting gear forms one of the greatest mechanical puz- 
zles that was ever introduced, at one time, and it real- 
ly never did find a place of utility until the traction en- 
gine was introduced." 

We have no data to indicate just when the first 
compensating gear was attached to a self-propelling 
thresher engine; but since the compensating gear is 
much older than the farm traction, it is likely that 
the first traction engine made was equipped with this 
device. For one of the first difficulties to be over- 
come would be that incident to applying equal trac- 
tive force to a pair of drive wheels that must often 
of necessity turn at different speeds, as in turning 
corners or on uneven ground. The compensating 
gear does away with all difficulty from this source, 
and offers the most practical method of applying the 
power of one motor equally to both drive wheels, 

222 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



223 



regardless of their relative speed. How this is done 
we hope to make clear in what follows. 

Perhaps the quickest way to arrive at an under- 
standing of what happens when the compensating 
gear is in use is illustrated in Fig. 1, representing 
three pulleys loosely mounted on a shaft. If now we 




FIG. 1. 

insert an iron bar between the spokes of all three, as 
at E, in Fig. 1, resting against spokes A and B of 
the outside pulleys which are equidistant from the 
central pulley, and turn the central pulley in the di- 
rection of the arrow so that the spoke C presses 
against the iron bar, it will turn both outside wheels 
with it so long as the resistance of each is the same. 
For the bar is nothing more than a lever, fulcrumed 
at C, and with equal weights at equal distances on 
each side of its fulcrum it cannot swing either way; 



224 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

like having pound weights on each end of a scale; 
they will balance even. But if now we add even 
an ounce of additional weight to one side, that side 
will sink and the other end will rise. But that other 
end still exerts its pound of pressure on its end of the 
scale. 

In the same way, if we take hold of pulley A, 
for instance, and retard its turning, the iron bar will 
exert the same pressure as before — no more— but 
since the pulley A is not turning as fast as C it fol- 
lows that the bar can no longer keep its straight across 
position, but will swing on C, pushing B farther ahead 
until it (the bar) can no longer stay in position, but 
must drop out. The operation would be the same 
of course, although reversed, if we were to hold back 
pulley B instead of A. So long as the resistance of 
the outside pulleys remains the same, the center one 
with its bar interposed between the spokes would turn 
them indefinitely. But as soon as for any cause one 
of them offered more resistance to the pressure of the 
bar than the other, then, though pushing with equal 
force on both pulleys, the bar would move the one of- 
fering the least resistance the fastest, itself swinging 
till it could no longer keep its position btweeen the 
spokes. 

Now let us substitute for the iron bar 
an iron cog wheel having one of the 
spokes of the central pulley for its shaft 
or axle, and meshing w T ith cogs placed on the 
inner rim of each of the outside pulleys, as at D, Fig. 
I. It will readily be seen that the opposite teeth of 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 225 

the cog wheel, with the metal of the wheel between 
them, constitute a lever that, engaging with the teeth 
on the rims of the outer pulleys, works in exactly the 
same way that the bar E did in the first instance ; excep- 
ting that when the cog wheel turns, the following 
teeth, as they engage with the outer pulley rims, 
form new levers to take the place of the ones just 
swinging out of mesh. But as long as the resistance 
of the outer pulleys is the same, the cog wheel cannot 




FIG. 2. 

turn any more than the bar could, and for the same 
reason. Put three of these cogged gears, the usual 
number in this pattern of gear, and they are usually 
beveled, see Fig. 2, which is the driving wheel in an 
Advance differential gear, and you have a typical 
central wheel of a compensating gear. Provide suit- 
able bevel gear wheels to mesh on each 



226 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



side of this to be driven by it, and 
you have the compensating gear complete 
as usually applied to traction engines. Fig. 
3, which shows the Aultman-Taylor gear opened up, 




shows very clearly how the parts lit together. A is 
the central driving wheel, which is driven by a bevel 
gear instead of the usual intermediate wheel. B B B 
are the beveled cogs mounted in its spokes, and.C 
and D are the wheels with which B B B mesh. The 
gear D is rigidly fastened to the main driving axle 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 227 

and turns it, and the opposite drive wheel with it. 
The other drive wheel, part of which is shown in the 
figure, moves freely on the drive axle, and has the 
opposite gear wheel, C> firmly attached to it. So 
that both drive wheels are as free of each other as 
the pulleys in Fig. I, but both receive exactly the 




FIG. 4. 

same "pull" from the engine through A and B, as 
already explained by Fig. 1. 

For automobile work exactly the same principle is 
employed, but its application is somewhat different. 
With even the best made bevel gears there is danger 
of end thrust and excessive wear on the etids which, 
though not likely to give trouble in the slow moving 
traction engine, would speedily develop looseness 



22 8 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

and rattling in the high speed motor vehicle. In or- 
der to avoid these difficulties spur gears were inven- 
ted and are very popular with automobile builders. 
The driven wheels are gear wheels meshing with 
pinions attached to the sprocket pulley. Instead of 
being beveled, however, these pinions are cylindrical 
and arranged in geared pairs, with the axes parallel 
with the sprocket shaft. The pinions of each pair 
are( set alternately on one or the other side of the 
sprocket, meshing with one another for about half 
their length, the remainder of each meshing with 
either of the axle gears, one of which is an internal 
gear, the others a regular spur wheel. When the ve- 
hicle is turning, one wheel revolves less rapidly, caus- 
ing the pinion with which it is geared to revolve on 
its mate, which in turn revolves on its own axis, al- 
though still engaging the opposite and moving wheel 
of the vehicle. Fig. 4, which shows the driving or 
"sprocket" wheel of the Geiser compensating gear, 
shows this form as adapted to traction engine use. 
This, however, does not exhibit the fine workman- 
ship and exact fitting necessary for high speed run- 
ning that is exemplified in a well made automobile 
compensating gear; which is a beautiful bit of mech- 
anism, as highly finished and as accurately fitted as 
the movement of a watch. 



Engine Horse Power. 

All calculations to find the horse power of an en- 
gine are necessarily approximate, as they are modi- 
fied more or less by the factors of friction in the mov- 
ing parts, loss of steam at the joints and valves, con- 
densation, quality of lubrications, amount of load, 
etc. 

The unit of power is the horse power, and was 
first calculated by Watt, that prince of inventors in 
steam enginery; and after numerous experiments 
Watt estimated the power of a good, average 
draught horse to be that which could lift 33,000 lbs. 
one foot high in a minute, 550 lbs. in one second, or 
1,980,000 lbs. in an hour. Hence we have the horse 
power factor, 33,000 lbs. 

RULES TO FIND THE HORSE POWER OF AN ENGINE. 

Problem. — What is the horse power of an engine 
whose piston is 12 inches in diameter, stroke 16 inch- 
es, revolutions 140 per minute, mean steam pressure 
30 lbs. per square inch on piston? 

Rule 1. — Multiply the area of piston in square 
inches by the mean pressure per square inch on the 
piston, then multiply this product by the speed of the 
piston in feet per minute, then divide this last product 
by 33,000 foot pounds per horse power. 

Example. — Diameter of piston 12 inches. Mul- 

229 



23O THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

tiply by itself 12X12=144 square inches of pis- 
ton. Reduce this to square inches of area by multi- 
plying 144 X .7854 ( T85 7 10000) = 113.0976 square 
inches of area, then multiply this by mean pressure on 
piston, 30 lbs., 113.0976X30 = 3392.928 lbs. to- 
tal pressure on piston, then multiply this product by 
speed of piston, 373.3 feet per minute = 1266580.- 
0224. Now divide this by 33,000 foot pounds per 
horse power = 3 8.3 horse power which this engine 
will generate with the steam pressure and speed giv- 
en. 

Rule 2. — Multiply the square of piston's diameter 
in inches by stroke in inches. Multiply resultant by 
revolutions per minute* Then multiply this product 
by 4. Now point off six figures from the right and 
multiply by the mean pressure in lbs., the final prod- 
uct is the horse power of an engine. 

Example. — Square inches of piston's diameter is 
144 X by stroke 16 inches = 2304. This X by rev- 
olutions per minute 140=322,560, resultant X by 
4=1,290,240 which X by mean pressure 30 lbs.= 
38.70 horse power of engine. This rule is correct 
within three-fourths of a horse power in 100. 

Rule 5. — Multiply the square of piston's diameter 
in inches by mean pressure in lbs. Multiply the pro- 
ruct by twice the stroke in feet. Multiply resultant 
by revolutions per minute. Then multiply this product 
by constant .0000238, the final resultant will be the 
horse power. 

Example. — Square inches of piston 144 X by 
mean pressure ^0=4,3 2oXby twice the stroke in feet 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 23 I 

2 2/3=1 i,52oXby revolutions . 140=161. 2800X by 
constant .0000238^38.38 horse power of engine. 
The constant, .0000238, is found by dividing .7854 
by 33,ooo toot pounds. 

Rule 4. — Multiply the area of piston by mean 
pressure. This product by the stroke in inches. 
Multiply resultant by 2. Again multiply by the rev- 
olutions per minute. Then divide product by 12, 
and divide final resultant by 33,000, th°, quotient will 
be the horse power of engine. 

Example. — Area of piston ii3.0976Xby mean 
pressure 30=3392.92 8oXby stroke 16 inches= 
542 86.848oXby 2=io8573.696oXby revolutions 
per minute, 140=15200317.4400-^^ 12=1266693- 
.1200-^by 33,000=38.38 h. p. of engine. In the 
foregoing rules no allowance is made for the piston 
rod, which, if so accounted for, would slightly reduce 
the horse power in each example. 

SHAFTING. 

To find the horse power of a shaft, multiply the 
cube of its diameter in inches by the revolutions per 
minute, and divide product by 82 for steel or 1 10 for 
iron shafting. 

Example. — Diameter of shaft, 2 inches; revolu- 
tions, 160; then, 2 5 X 160=1280-^-82=15.6 horse 
power, or 2 3 X 160=1280-^-1 10=1 1.6, horse power 
of iron shaft. 

BELTING. 

In Europe cog wheels are used to transmit power 
almost exclusively, but in America 99% of the pow- 



232 •the traction engine catechism. 

er transmitted is by belting. Cog wheel transmis- 
sion is positive, belting is not, because with every 
revolution of a pulley a portion of the power is lost; 
the loss varies with the condition of the belt, change 
of load, state of the atmosphere, etc. The power of 
a belt to transmit motion is derived from the fric- 
tion hold on the pulley; this is governed by the pres- 
sure or tension; a safe maximum working tension is 
about 45lbs. per inch in width. No dogmatic rule 

Table of Horse Power for single belts, pulleys running 200 rev- 
olutions per minute, diameter of both pulleys being equal. 





WIDTH OF BELT IN INCHES, 


DiaiD. 

uf Pill- 


Width of belt in inches. 


of Pul- 


1 


2 


i%\ 


8 


3^ 


4 


5 


6 


4 


5 


6 


8 


10 


12 


14 


16 


ley, in. 


H.P. 


HJ». 

~^88 


rf.P. 

1:08 


H.P. 

rio 


H.P. 
1.52 


H.P 

1.76 


H.P. 


H.P. 


ley, in 


H.P. 


P.H. 


H.P. 


H.P. 


H.P. 


H.P 


H.P. 


H,P>, 


6 


2.18 


2.62 


34 


9.8 


12.4 


14.8 


19.8 


24.8 


34.6 


34.6 


39.6 


7 


.51 


1,02 


1.28 


1.53 


1.79 


2.04 


2.54 


3.06 


36 


10.4 


13.0 


15.6 


21.0 


26.2 


31.4 


36.6 


41.8 


8 


.58 


1.16 


1.46 


1,74 


2.03 


2.82 


2.90 


3.50 


38 


11.0 


13.8 


16.6 


22.0 


27,6 


83.2 


38.6 


44.2 


ft 


.65 


1.30 


1.64 


1.95 


2.27 


2.60 


3.28 


3.94 


40 


11.6 


14.6 


17.4 


23.2 


29.2 


35.0 


40.8 


46.6 


10 


.78 


1.46 


1.82 


2.19 


2.55 


2.92 


3.62 


4.86 


42 


12.2 


15.2 


18.4 


24,4 


30.6 


36.4 


42.8 


48.6 


12 


.87 


1.74 


2.18 


2,61 


3.04 


8 48 


4.36 


5.24 


44 


12.8 


16.0 


19.2 


25.6 


32.0 


38.4 


44.8 


51.2 


14 


1.02 


2.04 


2.54 


3.06 


3.57 


4.08 


5.06 


6.10 


4ft 


13.4 


16.8 


20.0 


26.8 


33.2 


40.2 


46.8 


53.6 


1ft 


1.16 


2.32 


2.90 
3.28 


3.48 


"4.06 


4,64 


5.82 


6 96 


48 


14.0 


17.6 


20.8 


28.0 


84.8 


42.0 


48.8 


56.0 


18 


1.31 


2.62 


3.93 


4.58 


5.24 


6.54- 


7.84 


50 


14.4 


18.0 


21.8 


29.2 


36.4 


43.6 


50.8 


58.0 


20 


1.45 


2.90 


8.64 


4.85 


5.07 


5.80 


7.28 


8.72 


54 


15.6 


19.6 


23.6 


31-. 2 


39,2 


47.2 


52.8 


62.4 


22. 


1:60 


3.20 


4.80 


4.80 


5 60 


6.40 


8.00 


9.-60 


60 


17.6 


21.6 


26.2 


34.8 


43.6 


52.4 


61.6 


69.6 


24 


1.74 


3.48 


5.22 


5.22 


6.09 


7.00 


8.08 


10.4 


66 


19 2 


24.0 


28.8 


38.4 


48.0 


57.6 


67.2 


76.8 


26 


1.90 


3.80 


5.70 


5.70 


6.65 


7.60 


9.40 


11.4 


72 


20.8 


26.0 


31.2 


42.0 


52.4 


62.8 


73.2 


83.6 


28 


2.04 


4.08 


6.12 


6.12 


7.14 


8.20 


1.02 


12.2 


78 


22.8 


28.4 
30.8 


34.0 


45.2 


56.8 


68.0 


79.6 


90.8 


30 


2.18 


4.36 


6.54 


6.54 


7.63 


8.80 


10.8 


13.6 


84 


24.4 


38.8 


48.8 


61.2 


72.8 


85.6 


97.2 


82 


2.82 


4.64 


6.96 


6.96 


[8.12 


9.40 


11.6 


14.0 


96 


27.6 


84.6 


48.4 


56.0 


70.0 


82.4 


97.6 


110. 



can be laid down to determine the efficiency of a belt. 
After a series of numerous experiments, Joshua Rose 
(modern machine shop practice) states that belts 
vary from 25 to 100 per cent, in efficiency, for reas- 
ons given above. A long belt will transmit more 
power than a short one of same width and ten- 
sion. Consequently long belts are always the best 
if it is possible to use them. A i-inch belt traveling 
800 feet per minute and with proper tension will 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 233 

transmit i h. p. If the same belt travels 1,600 feet 
the power will be doubled. Each additional inch to 
the width will add 1 h. p., at same speed and tension. 
A belt under good conditions will deliver 97 per cent, 
of its efficiency. If belts are too tight there will be 
quite a loss from friction of the journals, etc; if too 
loose, there will be still more loss from slipping. 
Excessive slipping also dries out the leather and re- 
duces the adhesion. Within reasonable limits the 
greater the speed the more efficient a belt will be. 
About 3,750 feet per minute seems to be the maxi- 
mum. A double belt will last longer than a single 
one, and will take double the tension, and will trans- 
mit 7/10 more power, as capacity to transmit power 
is governed by the frictional width of belt and its 
pulling strength. A rawhide belt will transmit from 
25 to 50 per cent, more power than a tanned one, 
and for straight non- shifting work is much the most 
economical, but it is not adapted to cone pulleys or 
counter shaft work. Belts should be used with the 
hair side to the pulley. If pulleys are covered with 
leather there will be a gain of 25 per cent, in wear of 
belt and in power transmitted. 

It is best to have the belts run off from the main 
shaft in opposite directions, to equalize the strain 
on the bearings. Let the diameter of the pulleys be 
as large as possible, within the maximum belt speed 
(3,750 feet per minute,) and a belt should never 
be overworked, and the tension should be such as will 
give a slight sag when in motion. The per cent, of 
power lost by shaft journal friction should not exceed 



234 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

20 per cent, of the full load; if it does it may be 
charged to tight belting. The breaking strength of 
good leather belting per inch in width is the solid 
leather ', 675 lbs.; at rivet holes, 362 lbs.; at lacing 
holes, 200 lbs. It will be seen, therefore, that belts 
would be far more durable if lacing could be done 
away with, as is being done in some establishments, 
the ends og belts being lapped and cemented, thus 
making the joints as strong as the body of the belt. 

TO FIND THE LENGTH OF BELT WANTED. 

Rule 1. Add the diameter of both pulleys, divide 
by 2, and multiply quotient by 3^ ; add this product 
to twice the distance in inches between the centers of 
the shafts, and the final sum will be the length re- 
quired. Example. Diameter of large pulley, 24 in. 
+ 12, diameter of small pulley=3 6-^-2=1 8X3 *4 === 
58*^+216, twice distance between shafts=274^ in. 
length required. 

TO FIND WIDTH OF BELT REQUIRED FOR A GIVEN 

H. P. 

Rule 2. Multiply the horse power by the constant 
2,750, then multiply the diameter of driven pulley 
by the number of revolutions, and divide the first pro- 
duct by the latter, the quotient will be the width of 
belt required. Example 2. Horse power, 2 8Xcon- 
stant 2,750=77,000; diameter of pulley, 36 in.X 
revolutions 200=7,200; 77,000-^-7,200=10.7 inch- 
es, width required. 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 235 

TO FIND THE HORSE POWER WHICH A BELT WILL 
TRANSMIT. 

Rule 3. Multiply the width of belt by diameter 
of driven pulley in inches, multiply this product by 
revolutions of pulley per minute, then divide final 
product by constant 2,750, the quotient will be the 
horse power. Example 3. Belt 10 in.X36 diam- 
eter of pulley =360X200 revolutions =72,000-^2,- 
750 constant =26.5 h. p. required. 

THE HORSE POWER AND WIDTH OF BELT GIVEN, 
FIND THE DIAMETER OF DRIVEN PULLEY REQUIRED. 

Rule 4. Multiply the horse power by constant 2,- 
750, now multiply revolutions of pulley by the 
width of belt, then divide the first product by the 
latter, the quotient will be the diameter wanted. 
Example 4. Horse power 28X2,750 = 77,000; 
revolutions 200X10=2,000; 77,000^-2,000=38.5, 
diameter wanted. 

THE HORSE POWER, DIAMETER OF PULLEY AND 

WIDTH OF BELT GIVEN, FIND THE 

NUMBER OF REVOLUTIONS OF 

DRIVEN PULLEY. 

Rule 5. Multiply the horse power by 2,750, now 
multiply the diameter of pulley by the width of belt, 
and then divide the first product by the latter. 
Example 5. Horse power 28 X 2,750 = 77,000; 
diameter 36 X 10 width = 360; 77,000-^360 = 
2 1 1.4 revolutions wanted. 

The above rules assume that the driving and driv- 



236 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

en pulleys are of equal diameter, and the contact of 
belt half the circumference. If pulleys are of differ- 
ent diameter and contact of belt is less than half of 
circumference, then the rules must be modified as per 
tables below of areas of contact. 





TABLE 


OF BELT 


CONTACTS. 






Degrees of 


Fraction of 


Dec 


. fraction 




Constant — ■ 


Double 


contact. 


contact 


of circumf . 


Ratio. 


Single Belt. 


belt. 


90° or 


y 4 = 




.25 


2.21 




6080 


4250 


112° " 


5/16= 




.312 


1.72 




4730 


3310 


120° " 


1/3= 




.333 


1.6 




4400 


3080 


135° " 


%= 




.375 


1.4 




3850 


2700 


150° " 


5/12= 




.417 


1.24 




3410 


2390 


165° " 


7/16= 




.437 


1.17 




3220 


2250 


180° " 


y 2 = 




.500 


1 




2750 


1925 



For all practical purposes, the arc of contact of 
belt on smaller pulley can be roughly estimated by 
comparison with figures in first column in table 
above. For example, take arc of contact 150 and 
compare it with your belt. If it agrees approximate- 
ly, then taking Rule 3 we have example 3 modified 
as follows: Belt 10X36=360X200=72,000^- by 
new constant 3,410=21.1 horse power, or a loss of 
5.4 horse power as compared with full contact or 
half circumference in Example 3. 

OTHER RULES FOR FINDING SPEED AND SIZE OF 
PULLEYS. 

To find size of driving pulley, multiply the diam- 
eter of driven by revolutions it should make, and di- 
vide the product by revolutions of driver. Ex- 
ample 1. Diameter of driven 12 inches; revolu- 
tions, 240; revolutions of driver, 160; then 12X240 
= 2880-^ 160= 18, diameter of driver wanted. 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 237 

TO FIND THE SIZE OF DRIVEN PULLEY. 

Multiply diameter of driver by its revolutions, 
and divide the product by revolutions of driven. 
Example 2. Diameter of driver, 18; revolutions, 
160; revolutions of driven, 240; then, 18X160 = 
2,880-^-240=12 inches, diameter of driven. 

TO FIND THE NUMBER OF REVOLUTIONS OF DRIVEN. 

Multiply diameter of driver by its revolutions, 
and divide product by diameter of driven. Exam- 
ple. Diameter of driver, 18; revolutions, 160; di- 
ameter of driven, 12 inches; then 18 X 160 = 2,- 
880-1-12 = 240, revolutions of driven wanted. 

TO FIND THE HORSE POWER OF A DRIVING PULLEY. 

Multiply the circumference of pulley by the revo- 
lutions, and this product by width of belt, and divide 
final product by 600. Example. Circumference of 
pulley, 56.55; revolutions, 160; width of belt, 6 in.; 
then 56.55X160=9048X6=54,288-1-600 = 9.04, 
horse power of pulley wanted. 

To find the circumference and area of any diame- 
ter greater than any in the above table. Rule. — Mul- 
tiply any diameter given above by the factor 2, 3, 4, 
or 5, etc., the product of which will be the diameter, 
whose circumference and area is wanted. Example. 
— What is the circumference of 140? Tabular di- 
ameter of 35X4=140. Tabular circumference of 
35=109.9X4=439.6, circumference wanted. Rule 
for the Area. — Multiply the tabular area of tabular 



238 THE TRACTION EXGIXE CATECHISM. 

diameter by the square of the factor. Example. — 
What is the area of 140? Tabular area of 35=962 
.11X16(16 is the square of the factor 4)=i5,393. 
76, area wanted. 

The Circle. — The circumference of a circle is equal 
to the diameter multiplied by 3. 141 6. The area of a 
circle is equal to the square of the diameter multiplied 
by .7854. 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



239 



Table of Diameter, Area and Circumference of Circles. 



Diam. 


Area. 


Clr. 


Diam. 


Area. 


Cir. 


Diam. 


Area. 


Cir. 


H 


0.0123 


.3927 


16 


201.06 


50.26 


54 


2290.2 


169.6 s 


0.0491 


.7854 


Vz 


213.82 


51.83 


55 


2375.8 


172.8 


H 


0.1104 


1.178 


17 


226.98 


53.40 


56 


2463.0 


175.9 


u 


0.1963 


1.571 


Vz 


240.53 


54.98 


57 


2551.8 


179.1 


p. 


0.3068 


1.963 


18 


254.47 


56.55 


58 


2642.1 


182.2 


0.4418 


2.356 


V2 


268.80 


58.12 


69 


2734.0 


185.3 


H 


0.6013 


,2.741 


19 


283.53 


59.69 


60 


2827.4 


188.5 


1 


0.7854 


3 142 


Vz 


298.65 


61.26 


61 


2922.5 


191.6 


g 


0.9940 


8.534 


20 


814.16 


62.83 


62 


80191 


194.8 


1.227 


3.927 


% 


380.06 


64.40 


63 


8117.2 


197.9 


8 


1.485 


4.319 


21 


346.86 


65.97 


64 


8217.0 


201.0 


1.767 


4.712 


% 


863.05 


67.54 


65 


3318.3 


204.2 


g 


2.074 


5.105 


22 


880.13 


69.11 


66 


8421.2 


207.8 


2.405 


5*.498 


Vz 


897.61 


70.68 


67 


3525.7 


210.5 


H 


2 761 


5.890 


23 


415.48 


72.25 


68 


8631.T 


218.6 


2 


8.142 


6.283 


% 


433.73 


73.83 


69 


3739.8 


216.7 


X 


3.976 


7.068 


24 


452.89 


75.40 


70 


8848.5 


219.9 


l A 


4.909 


7.854 


Vz 


471.43 


76.97 


71 


8959.2 


223.0 


% 


5.939 


8.639 


25 


490.87 


78.54 


72 


4071.5 


226.2 


3 


. 7.068 


9.425 


26 


530.93 


81.68 


73 


4185.4 


229.3, 


X 


8.296 


10.21 


27 


572.56 


84.82 


74 


4300.8 


232.5 


U 


9.621 


10.99 


28 


615.75 


87.96 


75 


4417.9 


235.6 


X 


11.044 


11.78 


29 


660.52 


91.10 


76 


4536.5 


238.7 


4 


12.566 


12.56 


80 


706.86 


94.25 


77 


4656.7 


241.9 


% 


15.904 


14.14 


81 


754.77 


97.39 


78 


4778.4 


245.0 


5 


19.635 


15.71 


82 


804.25 


100.5 


79 


4901.7 


248.2 


Vz 


23.758 


17.23 


33 


855.30 


103.6 


80 


6026.6 


251.8 


6 


28.274 


18.85 


34 


907.92 


106.8 


81 


5153.0 


254.5 


% 


83.183 


20.42 


85 


962.11 


109.9 


82 


6281.0 


257.6 


7 


88.484 


21.99 


86 


1017.9 


113.1 


83 


6410.6 


260.7 


H 


44.179 


23.56 


37 


1075.2 


116.2 


84 


5541.8 


263.9 


8 


60.265- 


25.13 


38 


1134.1 


119.4 


85 


5674.5 


267.0 


Vz 


56r745 


26.70 


89 


1194.6 


122.5 


86 


5808.8 


270.2 


9 


63.617 


28.27 


40 


1256.6 


125.6 


87 


5944.7 


273.8 


« 


70.882 


29.84 


41 


1320.2 


128.8 


88 


6082.1 


276.4 


10 


78.54 


81.41 


42 


1385.4 


131.9 


89 


6221.1 


279.6 


Vz 


86.59 


32.98 


43 


1452.2 


135.1 


90 


6361.7 


282.7 


11 


95.03 


84.65 


44 


1520.5 


138.2 


91 


6503.9 


285.9 


g 


103.87 


36.13 


45 


1590.4 


141.4 


92 


6647.6 


289.0 


12 


113.10 


87.70 


46 


1661.9 


144.5 


93 


6792.9 


292.2 


« 


122.72 


39.27 


47 


1734.9 


147.6 


94 


6939.8 


295.3 


13 


132.73 


40.84 


48 


1809.6 


150.8 


95 


7088.2 


298.4 


Vz 


143.14 


42.41 


49 


1885.7 


153.9 


96 


7238.2 


801.6 


14 


153.94 


43.98 


50 


1963.5 


157.1 


97 


7389.8 


304.7 


« 


165.13 


45.55 


51 


2042.8 


160.2 


98 


7543.0 


807.9 


15 > 


176.71 


47.12 


52 


2128.7 


163.3 


99 


7697.7 


811.0 


X 


188.69 


4869 


53 


2206.2 


166,5 


100 


7854.0 


814.2 



240 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



THE PROPERTIES OF SATURATED 
STEAM. 



if 


.*«u 
*d 

e 

& 

.2 

J* CO 

2 

to 

Oh 

B 

CO 


Quantities of Heat in British 
Thermal Units. 


O 

O . 
O Cfl 

.2§ 

+J CO 

> 


Volume. 


o*<o 

O u 
& 0) 

<u p 

u Cm 
Ah 


rt *• 

•a u vm 

* C ii 


O 
Eh 


CI 

(0 

> . 
O 

(0 

w 

*t3 


EH 


£ 

O 


go d>> 
^C EH 5 

till 

Of£ « 
o*x S 


I 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


i» 


/ 


? 


Z 


H 


W 


F 


R 


s 

2 

3 
4 

5 

6 

7 
8 

9 

to 

ii 

12 

13 
14 

14.69 

15 
16 

17 

18 

19 


162.018 
126.302 
141.654 
153.122 
162.370 

170.173 
176.945 
182.952 

188.357 
193.284 

197.814 
202.012 
205.929 
209.604 

212.000 

213.067 
216.347 
219.452 
222.424 
225.255 


70.040 

94.368 

109.764 

121.271' 

130.563 

138.401 

145-213 
151-255 
156.699 
161.660 

166.225 
170.457 
174.402 
178. 112 

180.531 

181.608 
184.919 
188.056 
191.058 
193.918 


1043.015 
1026.094 
1015.380 
1007.370 
1000.899 

995-441 
990.695 
986.485 
9&2.690 
979.232 

976.050 
P73-098 
970.346 

967-757 
966.069 

965.318 
963.007 
960.818 
958.721 
956.725 


III3-055 
1120.462 
1125.144 
1128.641 
1131.462 

1133.842 
1135.908 
1137.740 

II39-389 
1140.892 

1142.275 

"43-555 

1144.748 
1145.869 

1146.600 

T146.926 
1147.926 
1148.874 
1149.779 
1150.643 


.003027 
.005818 
.008522 
.011172 
.013781 

.016357 
.018908 
.021436 
.023944 
.026437 

.028911 
.031376 
.033828 
.036265 

.037928 

.038688 
.041109 

•0435 T 9 
.045920 
.048312 


330.4 
I7L9 
"73 

89-51 
72.56 

61.14 
52.89 
46.65 

41.77 
37.83 

34-59 
31-87 
29.56 

27.58 
26.37 

25.85 

24-33 
22.98 
21.78 

20.70 


29623 
10730 

7325 
5588 
4530 

3816 
330^ 
2912 
•2607 
2361 

2159 
1990 

1845 
1 72 1 

1646 

1614 
J 5i9 

1434 
1359 
1292 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



24I 



THE PROPERTIES OF SATURATED STEAM 



I 


2 


$ 


4 


' 


6 


7 


8 


^ 


/ 


? 


L 


H 


W 


v 


R 


20 


227.964 


196.655 


954,814 


1 15 1.469 


.050696 


19-73 


1231.0 


22 


233.069 


201.817 


951.209 


H53.02.6 


•055446 


18.04 


1126.0 


24 


237.803 


206.610 


947.861 


1 1 54. 47 1 


.060171 


16.62 


1038.0 


26 


242.225 


211.089 


944.730 


ii55-8i9 


.064870 


15.42 


962.3 


28 


246.376 


215.293 


941.791 


1157.084 


•069545 


14.38 


897.6 


30 


250.293 


219.261 


939-019 


1158.280 


.074201 


I3-48 


841-3 


32 


254.002 


223.021 


936.389 


ii59-4io 


.078839 


12.68 


791.8 


34 


257-5 2 3 


226.594 


933.89I 


1160.485 


.083461 


11,98 


748.0 


36 


260.883 


230.001 


931.508 


1 161.509 .088067 


11.36 


708.8 


3^> 


264.093 


233.261 


929.227 


1162.488 


•092657 


10.79 


673-7 


40 


267.168 


236.386 


927.040 


1163.426 


•097231 


10.28 


642.0 


42 


270. 122 


2 39-389 


924.940 


1164.329 


.101794 


9.826 


613-3 


44 


272.965 


242.275 


922.919 


"65.194 


.106345 


9-403 


587-0 


46 


275.704 


245.061 


920.968 


1166.029 


.110884 


9.018 


563-0 


48 


278.348 


247.752 


919.084 


1166.836 


.115411 


8.665 


540.9 


5° 


280.904 


2 5°-355 


917.260 ' 


1167.615 


. 119927 


^■33^ 


520.5 


52 


283.381 


252.875 


9*5-494 


1168.369 


•124433 


8.037 


501.7 


54 


285.781 


255-32I 


9 I 3-78i 


1169.102 


.128928 


7.756 


484.2 


56 


288. in 


257.695 


912. 118 


1169.813 


.133414 


7-496 


467.9 


58 


290.374 


260.002 


910.501 


1170.503 


.137892 


7.252 


452.7 


60 


292.575 


262:248 


908.928 


1171.176 


.142362 


7.024 


438.5 


62 


294.717 


264.433 


907.396 


1171.829 


. 146824 


6.811 


425.2 


64 


296.805 


266.566 


905.900 


1172.466 


.151277 


6.610 


412.6 


66 


298.842 


268.644 


904.443 


1173.087 


.155721 


6.422 


400.8 


68 


300.831 


270.674 


903.020 


1173.694 


.160157 


6.244 


389.8 


70 


302.774 


272.657 


901.629 


1174.286 


.164584 


6.076 


379-3 


72 


304.669 


274-597 


900.269 


H74.866 


• 169003 


5-917 


369-4 


74 


306.526 


276.493 


898.938 


H75-43I 


•I734I7 


5-767 


360.0 


76 


308.344 


278.350 


897-635 


1175.985 


.177825 


5.624 


35*-i 


78 


310.123 


280.170 


896.359 


1176.529 


.182229 


5.488 


342.6 


80 


311.866 


281.952 


895.108 


1177.060 


.186627 


5-3S& 


334-5 


82 


313,576 


283.701 


893.879 


1177.580 


.191017 


5-235 


326.8 


84 


315-250 


285.414 


892.677 


1178.091 


.195401 


5. 118 


319-5 


86 


316.893 


287.096 


891.496 


1178.592 


.199781 


5.006 


312.5 


88 


318.510 


288.750 


890.335 


1179-085 


•204155 


4.898 


305-8 



242 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 



THE PROPERTIES OF SATURATED STEAM 



X 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


p 


/ 


? 


L 


H 


IV 


V 


R 


90 


320^94 


290.373 


889.196 


1179.569 


.208525 


4.796 


299.4 


92 


321.653 


291.970 


888.075 


1180.045 


.212892 


4.697 


293.2 


94 


323- l8 3 


293-539 


886.972 


1180.511 


•217253 


4.603 


287.3 


96 


324.688 


295.083 


885.887 


1180.970 


.221604 


4-5 J 3 


281.7 


98 


326.169 


296.601 


884.821 


1181.422 


•225950 


4.426 


276.3 


100 


327.625 


298.093 


883.773 


1181.866 


•230293 


4-342 


271. 1 


105 


33*- r 69 


301.731 


881.214 


1182.945 


.241139 


4.147 


258.9 


no 


334-582 


305.242 


878.744 


1183.986 


.251947 


3-969 


247.8 


115 


337.374 


308.621 


876.371 


1184.992 


.262732 


3.806 


237.6 


120 


341.058 


311.885 


874.076 


1 185.961 


.273500 


3.656 


228.3 


125 


344- 13 6 


315.051 


871.848 


1186.899 


.284243 


3-5i8 


219.6 


130 


347.121 


318.121 


869.688 


1187.809 


.294961 


3-39o 


211. 6 


135 


350-OI5 


321.105 


867.590 


1188.695 


•305659 


3.272 


204.2 


140 


352.827 


324.003 


865.552 


1189.555 


•316338 


3. 161 


197-3 


145 


355-5^2 


326.823 


863.567 


1190.390 


.326998 


3-058 


190.9 


150 


358.223 


329.566 


861.634 


1191.200 


.337643 


2.962 


184.9 


160 


3^3>34^ 


334-850 


857.912 


1192.762 


■ 35^^ 


2.786 


173-9 


170 


368.226 


339^92 


854.359 


1194.251 


.380071 


2.631 


164.3 


180 


372.886 


344.708 


850.963 


1195.671 


.401201 


2-493 


155-6 


190 


377.352 


349.329 


847.703 


1197.032 


.422280 


2.368 


147.8 


200 


381.636 


353.766 


844-573 


1198.339 


•443310 


2.256 


140.8 


2IO 


385.759 


358.041 


841.556 


1199.597 


•464295 


2-154 


134.5 


220 


389-736 


362.168 


838.642 


1200.810 


•485237 


2.061 


128.7 


230 


393.575 


366.152 


835.828 


1201.980 


.506139 


1.976 


123.3 


240 


397.285 


370.008 


833. 10 3 


1203. in 


.527003 


1.898 


118.5 


250 


400.883 


373.750 


830.459 


1204.209 


•547831 


1.825 


114.0 


260 


404.370 


377-377 


827.896 


1205.273 


.568626 


1-759 


109.8 


270 


407.755 


380.905 


825.401 


1206.306 


•589390 


1.697 


105.9' 


280 


411.048 


384.337 


822.973' 


1207.310 


.610124 


1.639 


102.3 


290 


414.250 


387.677 


820.609 


1208.286 


.630829 


1-585 


99.0 


3OO 


4I7-37 1 


390-933 


818.305 


1209. 238 


.651506 


1-535 


95-8 



INDEX 

A 

Page 

Angularity of Connecting Rod 14 

Appliances, Safety, when Unreliable 201 

Arch, Brick 79 

Areas of Circle, Table of 239 

Arm, Rocker 15 

Automatic Cut-Off 23 

Automatic Engine 107 

Axle, Drive, Location of. . 171-194 

B 

Babbitt for Connecting Rod 159 

Babbitting Cross Head Shoes 161 

Babbitting Crank Boxes 162 

Babbitting Crank Pin Brasses 164-170-179 

Babbitting Countershaft 188 

Babbitting Main Shaft 159 

Babbitt. Overheating 173 

Back Pressure 42 

Bagged Plates 61 

Balancing Engine 44 

Beading Flues 72 

Belt, Keeping on Pulley 186 

" Horse Power, Table of 232 

14 Length of 234 

" Width of 234 

44 Rule for Finding Horse Power of 235 

" Contacts, Table of 236 

Bent Spokes 169 

Blower, Effect on Flues 151 

Bolts, Stay 56 

Bottom, Water in Boiler 53 

Box, Dog on Boiler 53 

Boiler, Temperature Under Steam 20 

Best Type for Hill Climbing 26- 27 

" Heating Surface in 46 

" Cleaning 47 

44 Cast Iron 77 

" Freezing in 49-70- 71 

Horse Power of 119-120 

Jacket 54 

Laying up 170 

" Leaking 77 

Tapered Waist for 175 

Brake, Prony Ill 

Boxes, Brass, Babbitt for 162 

Brackets, Boiler, Fastening on 74 

C 

Castings, Malleable 173 

Center of Double Engine 12 

Finding Dead 198 

Card Indicator 13 

Calking Crack in Flue Sheet 72 

Check Valve Grinding 190 

Circles, Table of Diameters, Areas and Circumferences 239 



243 



244 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

C Page 

Click in Cylinder 15 

Clinkers, Cause of 145 

Coal, Slack, for Fuel 151 

Copper Ferrules 69 

Compression 25 

Compound Engine, Economy of 28- 29 

Compensating Gear 184-222 

Condensing Engine for Traction Work. . 23 

Connecting Rod, Angularity of 14 

Countershaft, Babbitting 183 

Cover, Pulley 186 

Cover, Packing Steam Chest 190 

Corliss Valve 82 

Cracking Noise 61 

Crank Pin, Putting in 39 

Crank Pin Brasses 164-178 

Crank Pin Out of True 197 

Crooked Flywheel 187 

Cross-head Pump 25-129-130 

Pump, Pound in 131 

Adjustment 31-165 

" Lining up 166 

Shoes, Babbitting 161 

Crown Sheet, Patch for 57 

Cut-Off, Automatic 23 

Fixed 19 

Point of 18 

of Valve 83 

Versus Lead 14 

Cup Lubricator 140 

Cylinder Box, Separator, Heating 182 

Click in 15 

" Oil, Effect on Eccentrics 141 

" Roundness, Test for 33 

Water in 107 

Squeak in 141 

D 

Dead Center, Double Engine 12 

Finding 198 

Diagram, Indicator 13 

Diameter, Area and Circumference of Circles, Table of 239 

Disc, Removing Crank 38 

Dog Box on Boiler 53 

Dope for Pipe Joints 171 

Double Engine, Starting 13 

Double Engine, Failure to Start 39 

Draught, Increase of 150 

Driving Axle, Location of 171-194 

Driving Wheels, High vs. Low 177 

E 

Economy, Hooking up an Aid to 21 

in High Pressure 30 

Eccentric, Position of 105 

" Affected by Cylinder Lubrication 141 

Ejector for Handling Water 179 

Engine, Automatic 107 

Balancing 44 

Bed, Replacing . 19 

" Compound 28 

Compared for Power 117 

Definition of 11 

Double, Steam Consumption 41 

" Over-working 41 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 245 



Page 

Engine, Pound in 17-23-28-32-162 

Laying up , 169 

Rating 81 

Exhaust Port Opening 24 

Nozzle, Size of 31 

Sharp 30 

Uneven 84-92 

Explosions, Cause of 57 

Expanding Flue 72 

F 

Fahrenheit, Meaning of 184 

Feed Pipe, Limed up 12 8 

Ferrules, Copper 69 

Fire, Accidental, Responsibility for 153 

Banking 145 

" in Smoke Box 152 

Thin 145 

Firing, Hard 150 

with Straw 147-151 

Flame, Temperature of 188 

Flues, Annealing 72 

" Beading 72 

Effect of Blower on 151 

" Expanding 72 

Fire, Warped 68 

Leaky, Cause of 58-66-149 

Pitting of 80 

" Removing 73 

Replacing 73 

Split 56 

Flue Sheet, Cracked 71 

Flywheel, Broken Spokes in 180 

Crooked 187 

" Loose 170 

Power of 119 

" Removing 176 

Size of 114 

Foaming 34-48- 63 

Freezing in Boiler 49- 70 

Point 185 

" in Steam Gauge 178-192 

Fusible Plug, Filling for 50-67- 78 

" Melting 66 

" Worn Sheet Around 52 

a 

Gandy Belt, Paint for 183 

Gandy Belt, Splice for 175 

Gauge, Defective Steam 62 

Frozen Steam 178 

" Steam, Double Spring 197 

Gasoline Traction Engine 53 

Gear, Compensating 222 

Glass, Lubricator, Breaking of 142 

Lubricator, Fouling of 142 

" Water, Breaking of 50 

Governor, Adjustment of 154 

" Eclipse 158 

Pickering 157 

Unsatisfactory 154 

Waters 155 



246 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

a 

Page 

Governor, Worn Stem on 156 

Graphite in Cylinder Oil 137 

Graphite in Sight Feed Lubricator 137 

Grates, Rocking 145 

Grinding Check Valves 190 

Grinding Globe Valves 181 

H 

Hammering, Check Valves or Injector 21 

Hammering, Cause of Leaks 79 

Heat of Coal and Steam 12 

Increases with Pressure 192 

" Latent 185 

Sensible " 185 

Heater, Advantage of 38 

Heater, Exhaust 177 

Heating of Piston Rod 36 

Heating Surface and Boiler 46-58-121 

High Pressure for Light Work 122 

Hooking up Valve Gear , 18 

Horse Power, Belt, Table of 232 

Horse Power 19-109-229 

Hydrostatic Test 63-182 

I 

Indicator Card 13 

Steam Engine 207 

Initial Pressure 172 

Injector, Causes of Failure of 124 

Compressed Air 130 

Jets, Cutting Out of 125 

Pipe Connections 129 

Range of Work 125 

Throttling 127 

J 

Indicator, Steam Engine . ^. 207 

Jacketing Boiler 54 

Jet, Steam, Capacitv of 132 

Jet, Pump 186 



Keys and Set Screws 216 

L 

Lap 103 

Latent Heat 185 

Laying up Boiler 170 

Laying up Engine 169 

Lead 24-83-85-89-106 

Lead vs. Cut-Off 14 

Leaky Piston, Test for 33 

Pop Valve 192 

" Seams 64 

Stay Bolts 58 

Tubes, Cause of 58 

Lever, Reverse, Rattling 88 

Lift of Pump Valves 25 

Lining for Steam Pump 176 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 247 

It 

Page 

Link Valve Gear 88 

Link Block, Loose 89 

Looseness in Boxes 25 

Loose Flywheel 170 

Loss of Power 23 

Loss of Pressure 3G 

Lubricator, Cup 140 

Double Engine 142 

Feed Pipe for 140 

Glass, Fouled 142 

Glass, Broken 142 

Position for 138 

Single and Double 134 

M 

Main Shaft, Babbitting 159 

Malleable Castings 173 

Mean Effective Pressure 109-172 

Melting Temperatures 173 

Mud in Boiler 49-170 

Nozzle, Exhaust, Size of 31 

Nozzle, Exhaust, Back Pressure of .146 



Oil, Cylinder, Effect on Piston Rings 135 

" Hard for Wrist Pin 142 

" in Boiler 170 

" Poor, in Cylinder 142-143 

" on Outside of Boiler 21 

" Running Gear in 188 

Overheated Babbitt 173 



Packing, Crosshead Pump 25 

Metallic 198 

Piston Rod 25-37 

in Woolff Compound 197 

Steam Chest Cover 190 

Paper Wrapping when Babbitting 164 

Patch for Crown Sheet 5 7 

Pin, Crank, Putting in 39 

Pipe Joints, Dope for 171 

Pipe, Steam, Size of 40 

Pitting of Flues 80 

Piston, Changing Position of 15 

" Head Breaking 43 

Head, Loose 163 

Leaky, Test for 33 

Rods, Heating of 36 

Rods, Wearing of 38 

Rod Packing 25 

" Rings, Replacing 35 

" Rings. Travel of 15 

Travel 33 

Speed 12 

Plows, Horse Power for 113 

Port Opening 24 

Potatoes as Scale Preventive 56 



248 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

P 

Page 

Pop Valve, Leaky 192 

Pop Valve Setting 193 

Pound in Engine 17-23-28-32-162 

Pound in Valve Gear 104 

Power, Loss of 23 

Power, Horse 19-109-229 

Pressure, Back 42 

" Economy in High 30 

Initial 172 

on Bearings, Figuring 166 

in Different Parts of Boiler 191 

Loss of 36 

Mean Effective 109-172 

Priming 48- 49 

Prony Brake Ill 

Properties of Saturated Steam 240 

Pulley Covering 186 

" Horse Power of 237 

" Revolutions of 237 

Size of 236 

Speed of 236 

Pump, Double for Compound Engine 136 

Cross-head 25-129-130 

" Economy of 38 

" Independent 106 

Jet 186 

Valves, Lift of 25 

Pumping Effect of Reversed Engine 16- 17 

B 

Ratings, Engine 81 

Release Valves 16 

Relief Valves on Piston Valves - 43 

Replacing Piston Rings 35 

Removing Crank Disc 38 

Reverse Levers, Position of 19 

Reversing Engine, Under Steam 16 

Rings, Loose Piston . 16 

Piston, Cutting of 135 

Travel of Piston 15 

Road Speed of Engine 27 

Rocker Arm 15 

Rocking Grates 145 

S 

Safety Plug, Filling of 50-67-78 

Safety Valve, Operation of 182 

Safety Appliances 199 

Scale, Boiler 52 

Scale, Potatoes for 56 

Scraper for Valve Seat 99 

Screen, Cone 150 

Saving in Compound Engine 28 

Seams, Single, Weakness of 158 

Set Screws 216 

Siphon, Steam Gauge 195 

Shaft, Babbitting Main 159 

Soldering Fluid . 173 

Soot as Paint for Boiler 177 

Slide Valve, Leaky 98 

Slack Coal 151 

Smoke Box, Fire in 152 



THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 249 

S 

Page 

Smoke Stack, Short 176 

Stack, Length of 176 

Speed, Engine on Road 27 

Piston 12 

of Engine 17 

Splicing Gandy Belt 175 

Split Tubes 56 

Spokes, Bent 169 

Spokes, Broken, in Flywheel 180 

Starting Double Engine 13 

Stay Bolts, Leaky 56-64- 73 

Steam Consumption 117 

Heat of Coal in . . . 12 

Jet, Capacity of 132 

Gauge, Defective 62 

Chest, Pressure at 175 

" Pump, Lining for 176 

Starting a 194 

Pipe, Size of 40 

" Saturated, Properties of 240 

Weight of 180 

Straw Burning 179-147-151 

Straw Stoker 149 

T 

Temperature of Boiler Under Steam 20 

of Flames 188 

Melting 173 

Tensile Strength 54 

Test, Hydrostatic 63-182 

" Roundness of Cylinder 33 

" Tensile Strength 54 

Thermometers, Kinds of 185 

Travel of Piston Rings 15 

Travel of Piston 33 

Tubes, Beading 72 

Effect of Blower on 151 

" Expanding 72 

Leaky, Cause of 58-149 

" Removing and Replacing 72 

Split 56 

(See Index Flues). 

V 

Valve, Balanced 82- 94 

" Corliss 82 

Cut-off 83 

Gear, Link 88 

Gear, Pound in 104 

Globe, Grinding 181 

Lead 83-85-89-103 

Lift of 25 

Russell, Leaky 101 

Relief on Piston Valve 43 

Setting Engine 85 

Link 90 

Peerless 94 

Russell 93 

Marsh 96 

Star 102 

Woolff 86 

" Seat, Hardened 95 

Slide, Leaky 98 



250 THE TRACTION ENGINE CATECHISM. 

v 

Page 

Valve, Release 16 

W 

Water Consumption 23 

" Bottom in Boiler 53 

in Cylinder 43-107 

" Excessive Use of 22 

" Glass, Breaking- of 50 

Glass, Shutting off 50 

Hot, in Injector 127 

Weight of, Compared with Steam 180 

" Standing in Boiler . 69 

Waist, Tapered, for Boiler 175 

Wear of Cylinder Rings 193 

Weight of Air 1 '< 4 

Weight of Steam 174 

Wheels, Driving, High vs. Low 177 

Wood, Fuel Value of 174 

Wrist Pin, Breaking 34 

Wrist Pin, Hard Oil for 142 

Z 

Zero, Definition of 184 



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'SCIENCE OF 
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SCIENCE 

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